One Question
by mmlissa88
Summary: Five years have passed since he thought he lost her. She ran away, only to return engaged… to one of his closest friends. Now here he was… the best man, and his duty… to go around town and help with the wedding to do list. Strangers, lovers, and forgotten nights all come together and clash. Secrets untold. New beginnings. This is One Question.
1. Prologue

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

One Question

Preface

Headlines for November 26th 2013:

Mr. and Mrs. Higurashi announces the engagement of their daughter, Kikyo, to Koga Atari, son of late Mr. Kyo Atari and Mrs. . Higurashi, a graduate at the University of Tokyo, is a self-proclaimed artist and musician for the Unosaki Performing Arts . Atari, also a graduate at Tokyo University, is on the Board of Directors for Tokyo's Elite at Takahashi and Sons Law firm.A Christmas wedding is planned.

He took in a deep breath as he re-read the headline, before he tossed the paper to the side.

"She's back."

A/N: woot! New story ? kind of curious to see how many people are still on here lol. I have some exciting things in store for this story. Hope you all enjoy this! Please leave a comment.


	2. Chapter 1

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 1

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She poured herself a glass of apple juice. She had a feeling deep within her stomach that today was going to be one of those days, and just as she was about to open up the paper to get a good look at the days headlines, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, how are you?"

She could hear the excitement in her sisters' voice.

She let out a laugh, "fine, I getting ready to read the paper," she submitted.

She heard a little excited shriek on the other line, "Well hurry up! Look at the front page!" Her sister exclaimed.

She flipped it over and about dropped the phone, "You're engaged! How come you didn't tell me!"

She wasn't really upset with her, but this was something she definitely wanted to know.

"I know! I'm sorry!" her sister explained, "I wanted to tell you so badly, but at the same time, I wanted you to be surprised! Aah!" She yelled excitedly.

"Haha, well I am glad you're happy. I am so happy for you, but… who is this Koga…?"

Her sister took in a deep breath, and then said a name she never thought she would hear again, "He is one of InuYasha's friends."

She felt like the phone would leave her hand, "InuYasha," she crooked out.

"Yea, I know. I didn't mean for this to happen that way, but… Koga is such a nice guy, and I think I deserve that… you know?"

She closed her eyes. After everything that happened, InuYasha was the last person she thought she would ever see, but she knew that her sister was genuinely happy, and she could not help but be happy as well.

"I know. You deserve happiness," she told her.

"Great!" Her sister piped up again, "then I have one more thing to bring by you…"

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" Yeah, congrats. I just read it."

The irritation was in his voice. This whole situation was just not making sense.

"Yeah. I didn't mean for you to find out this way, man, it just sort of happened," he felt his hand tighten around the phone.

"Just sort of happened? What the – You know the history between us, and how come you never thought to tell me!"

There was a long pause, and a deep breath.

"Listen, I know that the whole situation sucked. I know that it hurt you, but… it was like four years ago! You have been with like a billion girls since then. You never bring her up, and so I thought –"

"You thought what? That you would ask me to be your best man! You are such a –"

And then he let out the biggest laugh.

"InuYasha?"

His friend asked, "is everything alright? Did your brain just explode?"

"Koga, you are such a dickhead, but I was just messing with you."

"InuYasha, you are –"

"Yeah, there are a lot of words to describe me, but there is a meeting I got to go to, so …"

And all that was left to the call was silence.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"So, will you do it?"

She took in a deep breath, that feeling in her stomach only getting worse, "of course."

"Great! We have a dinner scheduled tonight, you know, so everyone can get to know each other," her sister told her.

She cocked her eyebrow, "well isn't that a little… unneeded..." she tried to search for the right word.

"Unneeded, how?"

"Well I am the only one that doesn't know everyone, and I can meet Koga anytime."

Her sister let out a laugh, "Well, you haven't met InuYasha either."

Her eyes widened, "Oh, yea, sorry I forgot. Well I guess a dinner is just perfect," but she couldn't hide the sadness in her voice.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," she chimed, diminishing any doubt that she was lying.

"Okay, but only if you are sure," she told her, hesitant to let it drop.

"Yep, all good."

"Okay, oh, I almost forgot!" Her sister sounded flabbergasts, "do you think Ariana can be the flower girl?"

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Ariana?" She almost couldn't get her baby's name out.

"Well, yeah, I mean… I know it is not a Japanese tradition for a flower girl, but I thought I would have a western wedding."

"Oh, I see."

"So," her sister asked clearing the silence.

"Mommy?"

She turned quickly around to see her precious baby girl.

"Is that Ariana?" She heard her sister ask.

"Yes, honey?" she called to her daughter as she placed her hand over the phone.

"Can I go and play with Shippo?"

"Sure," she smiled, "But make sure you stay in the yard!" she called after her, making sure the busy girl heard her before she got too far away.

"Sorry, your little niece is a handful sometimes," she joked to her.

Her sister chucked, "well, she might be, but she is the cutest niece ever," her sister played along, but they both believed it to be true.

She let a smile cross her lips, "I think that Ariana would love to be the flower girl in your wedding."

"Oh, thank you!"

"It is a pleasure, so what time is the dinner?"

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̶ 0;Listen, InuYasha, I wasn't done talking to you!" His friend yelled as he came into the room.

He waved his hand away, "was it something important?"

Koga smiled, "Well, not what I was going to call you, but what I was going to ask you sure was."

InuYasha looked up at him, "ask me…?"

"Will you be my best man?"

InuYasha looked at him shocked, "me?"

"Who else is in this room?"

"Well damn! Of course!" He told him as he reached out his hand to give him a hand shake and then gave his friend a hug.

"Well, what do we have here?"

The men both turned, "Koga is getting married," InuYasha announced.

"Yes!" The man exclaimed.

InuYasha and Koga just looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

Noticing this, he decided to clear the confusion, "well that means strippers are in our imminent future," he told them with a smile.

InuYasha and Koga looked at each other before laughing at their perverted friend.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After the meeting was over and everyone heard the news, InuYasha thought it was the best time to just go home and go for a quick jog before the dinner tonight.

For some reason, ever since he found the news out, it was bothering him. It wasn't that he would want his friend to neglect his own happiness, but at the same time, he had a feeling that he shouldn't have. A feeling that should have been long gone.

Jealousy.

'Do I?'

He couldn't bring himself to ask the question. It just wouldn't be possible to still have feelings for her after five years, but here he was, and he felt so out of place suddenly. As if it was that night five years ago.

~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~

"So, you are just leaving? Why can't you just let her do what she wants?"

She could feel the betrayal in his voice. It sounded so much like her only a few hours ago. She shook her head, "You don't understand everything, and you might not ever understand it all, but this is what I have to do."

InuYasha shook his head, "then I will come guys can use a man to protect you. You can't go to a new country… knowing nothing and expect to be fine." He told her stubbornly.

Kikyo smiled sadly at him, "You know I love you right?"

He smiled sadly back at her, "and you know I love you."

~~~~~~~~END~~~~~~~

"She just left without me," he said bitterly.

He still didn't understand how she could just leave him. "She told me she loved me. Did she even mean it?"

This whole situation was just too weird for him.

Maybe the feelings that he still harbored weren't jealousy, but he did want answers. He deserved answers, "and I am going to get them."

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He walked into the restaurant and as soon as he saw her, it took his breath away. She looked just as beautiful as the last time he saw her. She was wearing a dress that looked like what the girls in America would wear, definitely not Japanese. Her blue eyes focused on him, and she made her way towards him, "Oh InuYasha," she said as she gave him a hug. "I am so sorry for how I left things five years ago. It was a very difficult time for my family."

He smiled sadly at her, although he did want more of an answer, "it's understandable. We were so young then. It feels like an eternity ago."

She smiled in agreement, "I knew you were a great man. I just forgot how amazing you are."

He felt his heart quiver.

"Now, let's not get too close you two," Koga came over and put his arm around Kikyo.

InuYasha cleared his throat. He wanted to punch Koga, but why?

When he saw Kikyo it felt as if no time had passed at all. As if she had never left. As if he had never –

"Here she is," Koga announced.

InuYasha turned and saw a girl wearing scrubs with her hair up in a bun and glasses, "She looks familiar somehow."

Hearing him, Kikyo laughed, "Well, that is my sister."

InuYasha looked back at Kikyo, and then at this girl that entered. To him, they looked nothing alike, "sister?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "Remember, I showed you that picture when we were still dating. I told you she was the smart one."

InuYasha nodded his head lightly, recalling something about that whole conversation, "right."

"Come here you," Koga called to her as he embraced her in a hug.

Seeing this, InuYasha cringed. The entire time Kikyo and he were dating, he never once met her sister, and here Koga was acting as if they were family.

The girl smiled, "Hey Koga."

InuYasha noticed that she seemed a little awkward.

"It's good to meet you," Koga said to her.

InuYasha just looked dumbly at Koga, "You are just now meeting her?"

Koga turned towards him, "Well yea, she just moved back here… what was it babe, a month ago?" He asked Kikyo.

"It was three weeks ago," he heard Kikyo's sister answer.

"Right," Koga smiled at her. "Three weeks too long."

Kagome laughed, "I suppose it was too long," and then she turned to Kikyo.

"Kikyo," Kagome called as she embraced her sister in a hug, and Kikyo returned the sentiment.

"I have missed you sister," she replied.

"And I as well."

"So, where is this Ariana I have been hearing so much about," Koga asked her.

Kagome turned concerned at InuYasha before looking back at Koga, "I left her with her grandma. She doesn't get to see her too often."

"That's the truth," Kikyo agreed with a smile.

There was a moment of silence before Koga faced back at InuYasha, "oh, I almost forgot. Kagome, this is InuYasha. InuYasha, this is Kagome."

He got a really good look at her noticing her bright blue eyes behind her glasses, and her full lips, but other then that, he really could not see the familial resemblance between the two sisters.

"Nice to meet you," he said as he reached out his hand.

For a blink of a moment, he thought he saw a deep sadness cross her face, before it was replaced by the biggest smile, "and nice to meet you. I apologized that we had never gotten the chance to meet before now, but what better time then this joyous occasion."

Joyous.

That was not the word he would like to use right now.

"Yea, but at least we are meeting, right?" He asked her as he tried to hide his annoyance with the whole situation.

"Right," she agreed, and they ended the small handshake.

"Okay, great!" Kikyo piped up. "Well, now that everyone knows each other, shall we eat?"

"Starved," they agreed.

A/N: let me know what you all think! Oh, and I am going to try and finish my other stories. It is kind of hard when you got no inspiration, and I was sad that I only had one multiple chapter story that was finished, and since I have been working on this one for a while, I decided to share it with all of you. Just because ?

Hope you all enjoyed it! Leave a comment


	3. Chapter 2

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 2

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She waited outside the restaurant. All she wanted at that moment was to just go back to her apartment, 'but you promised Kikyo,' her mind reminded her, and it was true. She did promise her sister, but –

And there he was.

He was about six foot tall made with nothing but lean muscle. Even through his expensive business suit she could tell of his muscles underneath.

She looked up at him, and he was talking on his cell.

"No, we have to get the paper work done today," she heard him say into the device.

She watched him as his short dark hair danced with the light. She caught a glimpse of his dark brown orbs as he made his way past her.

"Yeah, no... it's –"

And then he was gone. He walked right passed her.

She watched as he entered the restaurant they were all meeting, and he stopped before he came to the hostess to get off his call, and once he turned the corner, he stopped dead in his tracks.

Kagome followed his line of site and was not at all surprised to see him staring at Kikyo. She looked breath taking, as she always managed to.

Her blue eyes were dancing in the light as she leaned over and whispered something to a man, whom from all appearances she gathered to be Koga, before she turned and saw InuYasha standing there.

Kagome turned and looked back at her cell phone.

She had the cutest picture of her daughter set as her wallpaper. It was hard to believe that she was already almost four years old.

She closed her cell, and with one deep breath she turned toward the restaurant and made her way inside.

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"So," Koga started as they began to head back to the office.

"So?" InuYasha answered somewhat irritated.

"What do you think of Kagome? Beautiful, isn't she?"

InuYasha looked at Koga like he was crazy, "yeah, a real beauty queen."

Koga laughed, "You really don't see the resemblance between her and Kikyo? Man, as soon as I saw her I thought I was looking at Kikyo."

"You," InuYasha said as he began to open the office door, "need to get your eyes checked."

"No, I am serious." Koga disagreed. "Sure, they might not dress the same, or carry themselves the same, but the resemblance is there. If I didn't know any better I swear they were —"

"Koga," InuYasha interrupted, "are you really going to talk about how cute you think your fiancé's sister is. Do you think that's smart?"

Koga laughed, "I guess not. I just don't understand why she doesn't have a boyfriend. I tell you, if I had met her first… she would definitely be my woman."

"I'm sure she would love that," InuYasha answered as he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," Koga called to him as he went to his office and shut the door.

InuYasha came to his desk and sat there for a moment. He had to figure out a way to talk to Kikyo without trying to seem like he was trying to steal her away from Koga.

But how.

He was knocked out of his musings as his phone rang.

He looked down and was surprised to see that the caller ID was reading Kikyo.

Uncertain, he answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, so, I know that we all just left each other, but I feel bad about how I left things. Would you be too busy to meet me in like fifteen minutes at that coffee house we loved going to?"

InuYasha rubbed his head. He didn't know if it was a good idea to go out with his ex-girlfriend and not tell her fiancé about it.

"Come on, please. I know this whole situation is bugging you."

He let out a laugh, "you always knew me so well."

"So does that mean you'll come?" She asked him.

He could hear the smile in her voice.

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He was surprised to see that he had arrived before her. She was always so on time.

"InuYasha," Kikyo said as she came through the door.

He rose and gave her a smile, "Kikyo."

She smiled as she came and sat across from him at the little coffee house located on the corner of the bustling street.

He made sure to get the booth in the corner where they held the art. It was where they would always sit all those years ago.

She took in a deep breath, "so, how are you handling this. I know this has to be weird. I really didn't plan it this way. I just –"

He placed his hand over hers, "listen, it's fine. I mean, yeah, it's a weird thing, and I do want some answers from you, but that's why I am here," he told her as he gave her a smile.

She nodded her head, "Well, I will start then."

She took a deep breath, "I am sorry, first of all, for making you think that you could have went with me when it was not at all possible, and second, I am sorry that I never told you anything, and honestly, it is still not my position to tell you, but I do believe I owe you something, so yeah," she told him as she gave a small laugh, knowing that everything she just said was unnecessary, but she was so nervous around him.

"Well, first of all, the reason which you know. I left five years ago because of Kagome."

InuYasha nodded his head, beginning to hate the fact that her little sister was the reason he lost the only girl he had ever loved in his life.

"But what you didn't know," she went on, "is that the reason I decided to go with her was because Kagome had found out that she was pregnant."

InuYasha looked at her shocked, "Pregnant? By who?"

He couldn't understand how Kagome could let something like that happen. She looked as if she had never had sex with anyone in her life, which as of today, he knew to be contrary, but that was neither here nor there.

Kikyo shook her head, "I have no idea. Frankly, Kagome is the only one that knew him, and she's never told me his name. The most I got out of her was that it was only a one night thing. She won't give me anything else. Just that she met him, and she told me he wanted nothing to do with it."

InuYasha tightened his fist, "Well whatever bad happens to him is the least of his concerns. If I ever find out who this guy is, I will beat the crap out of him."

Kikyo gave him a sad smile, "you and me both."

"But I still don't understand why you had to leave," he suddenly asked her.

Kikyo looked at her hands, for some reason she couldn't bring herself to look at him, "honestly, I just had to be there for her. She is such a deep part of me, and I know that she would have done the same for me. Not saying that you would just ditch me, if it was you, but you know what I mean," she told him in an awkward chuckle.

InuYasha shook his head, "I guess I just don't understand… did you not love me?"

This was a question he did not want to voice aloud, but deep down it was what he always wanted to know.

Kikyo looked at him with such hurt and remorse, "I did love you. Don't ever think other wise."

"I don't think I can do this," he said as he got up from the table. "I can't sit here and pretend like I am okay with the whole situation. You just left. No call. No letter."

"InuYasha that was how it had to be."

"Kikyo, I can't pretend that it doesn't bother me," and then he left the coffee shop.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kagome sat in her office.

She loved her sister dearly, but she didn't think she would be able to be in her wedding. She just couldn't do it.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Higurashi," the nurse explained as she walked into the room, "but you have a call on line one."

Kagome quickly thanked the nurse and received the call, "Hello?"

"Kagome, you will never guess what happened," Kagome cringed when she heard her sisters voice on the phone, knowing that she would have to break the news to her.

"Kikyo, it doesn't look good to be accepting personal calls when I am trying to become a fellow physician at this hospital."

Kikyo brushed her off, "You are twenty-four. Most people your age are just getting their bachelors."

Kagome just rolled her eyes, "what's up?"

"I met with InuYasha."

"InuYasha, why was something wrong," Kagome asked her confused.

"No, well, sort of. He wants answers, Kagome."

There was silence on the line.

"You know that can't happen," Kagome told her after a few minutes.

"I know how you feel about it, but he is so upset with me, even after all this time, and we can't keep him in the dark forever," she tried to explain.

"Kikyo, what I told you… do you not remember how everything…" she didn't want to finish. It was a hard time for them.

"I know. I remember, but I can't have him thinking things that aren't true. He asked me if I ever loved him –"

"And what did you say?"

"Well, I told him that of course I did. I mean, honestly, a part of me will always love him."

Kagome closed her eyes.

"And that is why you can't tell him."

"Nothing will ever happen between us. You know that," she told her reassuringly.

"Kikyo, you and I both know you can't make those promises."

"I love Koga."

"Yes," Kagome agreed, "but you might still have feelings for InuYasha, and we… Kikyo we just can't chance it."

Kikyo sighed defeated, "I know. It just hurts me thinking about what we are doing to him."

"I never meant for this to happen."

"I know. None of us did."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: Please comment!


	4. Chapter 3

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 3

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After the call with her sister, Kagome just couldn't bring herself to deny her sister the one thing she asked of her, and so, her maid-of-honor duties began.

And this was not just regular duties. Her sister had this wanton idea to get all the bridal party together every Tuesday and Thursday, and today just happened to be Thursday.

On their last meeting they met with the rest of the bridal party. In its entirety, the party included: Miroku, Sango, Rin, Sesshomaru, InuYasha, herself, and of course the bride and groom.

And she was about to be late for this next meeting that her sister had planned. Apparently, Sesshomaru didn't see the need to leave his office for such 'frivolous matters,' as he liked to put it, so the meetings during regular office hours, a.k.a: Tuesday and Thursday meetings, were held at Takahashi and Sons Law firm, which to all the rest of the bridal party was not a big deal, but to Kagome, whose trip from Tokyo General to this building… it was about half an hours travel, which equaled time she did not have to spare.

The elevators beeped telling her that she had reached the top floor in which, the men in the wedding party offices were all held, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember which one she was supposed to go in.

She looked around, noticing that there were only two doors closed, and the rest had no one in them, so she decided to pick the one closest to her and opened the door, but when she walked in, THIS was not what she was expecting.

"Miroku, you have to be more still!" Sango yelled to the man.

"How I am supposed to just let you put it on me like that. I hate to break it to you, my dear, but you can be somewhat of a ruff woman," he told her in his perverted voice.

Sango focused her eyes on him, and already Kagome could tell what was going to come next, but she decided to interrupt them, "Ummm, did I have the time wrong? Because I thought we were supposed to have a meeting."

Sango dropped her hand which was intended for the mans' face and looked quickly over at her, "Oh, Kagome, I didn't even hear you come in," she replied as she left Miroku.

"What is going on… if you don't mind me asking?" Kagome asked somewhat frightened of the answer.

"Oh," Sango replied as a blush crossed her face, "well let's jut say Miroku lost a bet," she began.

"And InuYasha and Koga tied me down," Miroku continued.

"And we dressed him like a girl."

Kagome turned around to see InuYasha and Koga behind her, "you have got to admit, it was funny," Koga replied.

"Not as funny as seeing Sango man-handle him," InuYasha finished.

"Now, I don't see the irony in this situation at all," Miroku whined.

"Really? You dressed like a woman… the pervert dressed like a girl..?" InuYasha tried to explain, "Nah, it's not even worth it."

"Well this was expected, though not this fast," Sesshomaru said as he walked through the door.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Miroku yelled at him.

"I always thought you were too perverted to be normal, and well this," he replied as he pointed at him, "makes everything so much clearer."

"Sesshomaru, you know –"

Kagome was taken out of the room as Koga grabbed her arm and left the man, while everyone else made their way to the meeting.

"I can't wait to see the look on Mirena's face when she walks in," InuYasha started as they made their way down the hall.

"I know, good thing Sesshomaru had all those cameras put in each of our offices," Koga agreed.

"Oi," InuYasha protested, "how come I never heard about these cameras," he asked his brother.

Sesshomaru let out a deep breath, "if I had told you, you would have only acted like a child, so I eliminated that problem completely."

"By not telling me! Sesshomaru, you have got a lot of nerve," InuYasha replied as he stopped in front of him.

"Wait," Kagome interjected, forcing everyone to look at her, "who is Mirena?"

All the men stared at her for a moment before rumbling in laughter, "I am so glad you are here," Koga said as he wrapped his arm around her.

Kagome managed an awkward chuckle, knowing she probably was not going to get her answer.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I still don't understand why it HAS to be me and Kagome."

Kagome looked awkwardly over at InuYasha who was still protesting the entire idea that Kikyo laid out.

Koga rolled his eyes, "InuYasha, it is simple. You are the best man. Kagome is the maid-of-honor. You work together to get things done. I mean, really?"

"He was always quite slow as a child," Sesshomaru decided to ease some of the confusion.

"Sesshomaru," InuYasha growled.

"I can just do it by myself," Kagome interjected. She really didn't want to work with the man if he was having this much trouble with the idea.

"See?" InuYasha pointed out as he looked to the bride and groom.

Kikyo shook her head, "InuYasha, that would be way too much work for her, and I thought it would be a better way for you two to get to know each other," she told them smiling.

InuYasha crossed his arms over his chest as he looked the other way, "fine."

"Great," Kikyo smiled.

"Does that mean the rest of us can go?" Sesshomaru asked as he began to stand.

"Yeah, we will meet again on Tuesday." Kikyo answered.

"InuYasha," Kikyo warned, "you better keep up your end."

He rolled his eyes, "I said I would do it. It's not as if I am a child."

"Some would disagree," Sesshomaru said as he left the room.

"I am going to beat your –"

"Kikyo," Kagome called before her sister could leave the room.

Kikyo turned toward her and smiled, "See, I told you."

Kagome looked at her confused, "Told me what? Kikyo, this is a bad idea."

Kikyo shook her head, "no this is perfect. Now maybe the two of you can get to know each other and you can –"

"What…?" Kagome asked her frustrated. "We can become one happy family?"

Kikyo's shoulders slumped, "Kagome, I know you can't see this situation any other way, but at least, give it a try… for me?"

Kagome rubbed her head, hating that she was buying her sisters idea, "fine."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

InuYa sha sat at the desk looking out the window.

He was having trouble listening to that incessant chatter.

"Can we please do this later?" He begged her.

"I don't have the time for later," she replied as calmly as she could. For a twenty-seven year old… he was a big baby.

"Fine," he grumbled. "What do we HAVE to do today?"

She looked over the papers her sister had given her of what needed to be done by this week, "well it looks like everything on this list needs to be done."

InuYasha tore the list from her hands, "let me see that."

"What is Kikyo thinking? There's no way we can do all of this today."

"Yeah, I don't think that it was meant to do in just one day."

He looked at her confused, "what do you mean?"

"I think she wants us to get together everyday to get this stuff done," she said sheepishly.

InuYasha banged his head against the table, "you have got to be kidding me. How does she think we have that much free time?"

Kagome laughed, "You're telling me."

"Yeah, I know this has to suck for you," InuYasha agreed. He was busy, but he wasn't the one with a kid trying to land a job as a full time doctor.

"Thanks for the sentiment," she said sarcastically.

"Hey, you should take it as a compliment. I don't try to relate to people too often," he told her jokingly.

"I'll remember that," she replied laughing.

"You better," InuYasha said continuing with the light mood. It was nice for once; he didn't feel all out of place which didn't happen a lot when it came to women.

"You want to go grab lunch?"

Kagome stopped giggling to look at him, "Lunch?"

She looked at her cell phone and suddenly remembered something, "Oh, no!"

"A no would have been fine," InuYasha replied feeling awkward.

Kagome blushed as she turned towards him, "Oh, I mean… I forgot. I am supposed to pick up my daughter in like five minutes, and she is about thirty minutes away."

She started gathering her stuff, knowing that she had better get a move on if she wanted to get there, before she got charged an extra thirty dollars.

"I can take you."

Kagome turned around and quickly denied his proposal, "no, I can get her. I will be fine," she told him with a worried smile.

"Kagome, really. It's not a problem," he told her as he grabbed her hand and led her to the elevator.

Kagome felt the heat light up her cheeks, noticing this; InuYasha looked at their hands and quickly let hers go.

"Um," He said trying to break the awkward moment, "so…"

"It's okay. Thank you for taking me."

He ran his hand through his hair, glad that she alleviated the uncomfortable situation.

"So, Ariana is it?" He asked as they got out of the elevator and whistled for his car.

"Yeah," she answered concerned on where he was taking this.

"It's a cute name. Unique, but cute," he said as the car pulled up.

"Oh, well yea, it is kind of a spin on an American and Japanese name, but I think it fits her," she smiled as she got into the back of his town car.

"I bet it does."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They arrived at the enormous daycare and InuYasha immediately felt overwhelmed, "I have no idea how you understand the layout of this place."

Kagome smiled at him as they continued to walk through the colorful halls, "I submit that it does take a little getting used to, but… after about a month I think I got it down."

They entered a purple door and suddenly the people that were inside stopped talking to look at the duo at the door.

"Umm," Kagome said sheepishly.

"I guess it takes a little longer," InuYasha whispered laughing quietly in her ear.

"Shush," Kagome said smiling and hitting him on the arm.

She turned back around and talked to the woman that was on her way towards them, "I am looking for Ms. Suki's room. I apparently got the wrong room somehow."

The petite lady that looked to be about twenty seven with short brown hair smiled understandingly at her, "it does take a bit getting used to."

"Tell that to her," InuYasha butted in.

"InuYasha," Kagome replied, awestruck that he would say that.

"You guys make a cute couple," the woman replied.

"Oh, we aren't," InuYasha started.

"What he means to say is that –"

"Oh, apologies. I just assumed with the way you both carry yourselves together. Oh well. Ms. Suki's room is down the hall to the left."

"Thank you," Kagome replied trying to will away her blazing cheeks.

They made the short trip down the hall without really looking at each other. Kagome just couldn't bring herself to say something to him after what the woman said.

They came to a yellow door, "Well, I have no idea how you thought the PURPLE door was right, when it clearly was a YELLOW door that you dropped her off at this morning."

Kagome stared at him wide-eyed, the blush still aligning her cheeks before she entered the door.

"Mommy!" A little girl yelled as she made her way towards them.

"Hey baby," Kagome replied as she embraced the dark brown haired girl in her arms.

When they let each other go, the little one looked at InuYasha, "mommy… there is a strange man behind you," she stated matter-of-factly.

Kagome smiled at Ariana, "that is mommy's friend." She got on her hind legs, "his name is InuYasha," she told her daughter quietly.

Ariana looked skeptically at him, "Are you nice?"

InuYasha cocked an eyebrow at her, "I would like to think so."

She scrunched up her face, her brown eyes locked on his, "you better be nice to my mommy."

She came up to him and whispered in his ear, "She is very special."

InuYasha couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as he looked at Kagome who was just looking at the pair.

"I would agree," he told Ariana.

"We can't keep secrets from mommy," Kagome told her daughter as she grabbed the little girls' small backpack.

InuYasha shook his head at Ariana, "nope, it is a secret between us."

Ariana looked up at InuYasha with a smile in her eyes, "sorry mommy."

Kagome took a deep breath, "it better be a good secret," she told her daughter as she placed her jacket on her arms.

"Oh, it's the best," InuYasha told her.

"It's the bestest, most greatest secret in the world," Ariana agreed.

InuYasha laughed, "What she said."

"Fine, well its time to go –" Kagome started.

"Mommy, can InuYasha come too?" Ariana looked at her with the gorgeous brown eyes she fell in love with, and she knew she could deny her baby nothing.

She took a deep breath before looking at InuYasha. This sure was a situation she never imagined herself in, "I guess he can, but only if he agrees as well," she told Ariana.

Ariana immediately looked at InuYasha, "Will you come? Will you? Will you?"

InuYasha let out a chuckle at the child's earnest behavior, "Sure."

Ariana exploded in an eager reply of hooray, and then the three were off back to his town car.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Why does aunt Kikyo want lilies?"

"Because those are her favorite."

"Well why does she want purple and white lilies?"

"Because those are the colors of the wedding."

"Well why –"

Kagome turned to InuYasha, "Oh the joys of parenthood," she told him with a smile.

InuYasha laughed.

He could tell that it would be demanding at times, but looking at Ariana, he couldn't understand why a person wouldn't want to answer the little girl's questions, as trivial as they might be.

"Mommy," Ariana asked quietly.

Kagome stopped and bended down in front of her, "Baby what is it?"

She looked up at Kagome with tears in her eyes, "the kids at school made fun of me today, because I don't have a daddy."

Immediately, Kagome pulled the small girl into her arms, "Shush, baby it's okay. They just don't know any better."

"Do I have a daddy, mommy?" Ariana asked her as she began to wipe her eyes.

Kagome bit her lip, "Yes, baby, you have a daddy."

Ariana's eyes lit up with joy, "really? I do?"

Kagome laughed, "of course you do."

"Where is he, mommy? And how come I never see him?" Her mood quickly turned sad once more, "does he not like me?"

Seeing the display before him, InuYasha couldn't help the way his heart tinged at that moment. He didn't understand how anyone could just abandon their child this way.

Kagome shook her head, "No, he loves you. It's just that he works a lot."

"Will I ever meet him," Ariana asked her with tears in her eyes.

Kagome couldn't take the sadness.

"I don't know baby," she told her daughter truthfully.

"He hates me, doesn't he?"

"No," Kagome told her shaking her head, "baby… he just… I –"

"Why don't we tell her now, Kagome?"

Kagome turned around, "tell her what?" she asked him confused.

He bent down in front of Ariana, "I am your daddy."

Kagome felt like she was going to have heart failure.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: o.O


	5. Chapter 4

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 4

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"InuYasha, you can't just tell a child that!"

She had to be quiet. Ariana was just now asleep in her bed.

"What's the big deal, Kagome? It's not like he is ever going to come back for her if he hasn't shown himself by now."

Kagome rubbed her forehead, "that's not the point. The rest of her life she is going to believe that you are her father."

InuYasha shrugged his shoulders, "so?"

"I can't have some man I barely know being my baby's father," she couldn't believe how lightly he was taking this.

"So, what are you going to do, Kagome? Tell her that her daddy doesn't want her? Tell her that I am not her real dad?" He asked her as he waved his hand towards where the girl's bedroom was located.

"I don't know, InuYasha." Kagome told him seriously. This whole situation just got really complicated.

Kagome went over to sit on her brown suede couch.

InuYasha followed quietly behind her, "Listen, I know that the whole thing is hard on you, and I know that you have worked really hard for her so far Kagome, but… If you will let me," he began as he took her hand, "I would love to be a father-figure for her… at the very least."

Kagome felt tears building in her bright blue orbs, "thank you," she told him as she began to sob in his shoulder.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kagome woke up to her daughter's voice in the kitchen, along with some not so wanted noise of some pots and pans. Worried, Kagome quickly got off the couch and headed into the room, but she was not expecting this.

"No, we have to add the eggs first," Ariana was saying.

"I am the one holding the box with the directions," he pointed out to her.

"What are directions?"

His brown eyes locked onto hers and he smiled, "they're daddy instructions."

Ariana's face brightened immediately, "are daddy instructions only good for daddies?"

InuYasha crinkled his nose as he thought about it for a moment, "Yeah, I think it is one of the requirements."

"Aw, man," Ariana protested as she banged her foot on the ground.

"Hey, shush," he told Ariana as he placed a finger over his lips, "remember, we have to be quiet, because we are trying to make mommy breakfast."

Ariana nodded in agreement as she placed her finger over her lips and made the shush noise.

Kagome quickly stepped out of the kitchen.

There were so many feelings that resided within her just from seeing those two interact, and she still wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but Ariana sure looked happy, and so did he, so maybe it all would work out in the end, at least, in a perfect world, if that's what she was living in, she hoped it would.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Hello?"

"Hey Kagome."

"Hey Kikyo," Kagome smiled to herself. She could always count on her sister to call her bright and early on a Saturday morning.

"So…" Kikyo began.

Kagome rolled her eyes, she knew where this conversation was heading, "so… what?"

"Kagome, don't play dumb with me. How did yesterday go?"

Kagome laughed, "yesterday went –"

"Surprise mommy!" Ariana said as she pranced into the living room, barely carrying the two glasses of chocolate milk that she was in charge of.

Kagome halted her daughter before she could drop all the contents on the floor, "baby let's not spill that everywhere."

Ariana looked at the cell phone, "is that auntie Kikyo?"

"Hi Ariana," Kikyo said into Kagome's ear.

"Aunt Kikyo says hi," she told her daughter as she placed the chocolate milk onto the coffee table.

"Kikyo?" InuYasha asked confused as he entered the living room carrying a huge tray with scrambled eggs, sausages, and pancakes.

"Is InuYasha there? Kagome, what's going on?"

"Mommy tell Aunt Kikyo that my daddy's here!"

InuYasha and Kagome looked at each other wide eyed.

"Kagome!" Kikyo was yelling into the phone.

Kagome felt like crawling into a corner and dying, "I am going to have to call you back."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After Kagome sent Ariana to her room, she knew that she and InuYasha would have to really talk about this whole situation. It seemed nice to let him pretend to be daddy, but in reality, they both knew it would have a lot of difficulties.

"So, what are we going to do?"

She felt like she had just taken two steps back. Here they were in the exact same position as the day before, but now, there was a lot more pieces to the puzzle that needed to be added.

Kagome rubbed her forehead, she really had no clue as to where even to start. "I don't know. It will be really awkward for Kikyo if this is the way we continue."

InuYasha shook his head in agreement. Out of all the outcomes, he didn't want his ex-girlfriend to think that he had cheated on her with her sister.

"But at the same time," Kagome continued, "if we told her our plan, I don't think she will have a problem with it."

Kagome hated saying that out-loud. Calling it 'the plan' – her life couldn't just be as simple as 'the plan' actually was.

InuYasha turned to face her, "and you don't think she would be upset?" he asked cautiously.

Kagome studied him. She wanted to know what he was thinking behind his dark brown eyes. His worry lines around his eyes gave her all the answer she needed. He was afraid.

Afriad of what – she had no idea.

She looked back at her palms joined together, and said the one true statement to him since she met him. The one statement she knew would change everything, "I know she wouldn't be upset."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kagome and InuYasha sat uncomfortably at the table waiting for Kikyo. They told her they would meet her at 12:30, just after the lunch hour.

Kagome looked at InuYasha, and she could see the sweat droplets begin to form around his hairline. She knew he was nervous, and the more she watched him, the more nervous she became even though she knew she had no true reason to be.

Kagome's eyes focused to the door when the little bell rang signaling that someone had just entered the small Japanese restaurant. She was not at all surprise to see her sister walking towards them with a sort of worried look on her face, but that was only battling with a somewhat relieved look as well, Kagome would have to ask her about that later.

Kikyo made her way to the table, having no trouble spotting the duo in the eight table seating area, and then sat down.

Kagome opened her mouth to talk, but InuYasha beat her to it.

"How are you today?"

Kagome had to let out a large breath; she hated how dotting the man still was over her sister.

Kikyo smiled at him, showing the smile lines that were always apparent around her eyes and lips, "I am good. Just trying to get as much work done as possible before the big day," she told him as she held up two of her fingers that were crossed.

InuYasha looked down at the table and nodded his head; a definite sign of what he was actually feeling, "Oh, well that's great."

Kikyo smiled sadly at him before turning to face Kagome, "So, what exactly did I hear earlier?"

She was grateful that her sister was not trying to jump on any ideas that she might have formulated in her head, but instead waited to hear it from her.

Kagome smiled meekly at her older sibling, "you heard Ariana wanting me to tell you that her daddy was at the apartment."

Kikyo nodded her head slowly, "yes, but what does that have to do with InuYasha?"

By the calculated way Kikyo was forming her words, Kagome was glad that her sister's speech class had taught her well on not giving anything away. It was almost as if she were playing poker, and all her chips were on mediocre cards.

"We told her that I am her father," InuYasha butted in.

Kagome looked at InuYasha surprised that he would have stated anything at all, but she was always underestimating the man.

Kikyo looked at them both shocked, "so he kn–"

Kagome quickly shook her head, "Ariana was really upset about not knowing her father, and I suppose," she paused as she looked at the brown haired man to cover up her sisters' words, "that InuYasha decided that he would be the father that Ariana never had."

The light in Kikyo's eyes immediately went away, "Oh, I see."

Kagome looked quickly at InuYasha and could tell from the concerned lines around his eyes that he was completely lost on what Kikyo's demeanor gave away.

"Yes," Kagome started up again, "I am sorry that we just dropped this in your lap, but we both feel that it would be best for Ariana."

Kikyo gave off a slight laugh, the darkness not leaving her eyes, "I understand."

"Do you?" InuYasha asked her worried.

Kagome felt her throat swell up.

Kikyo looked at him, her sad eyes searching over him.

Kagome couldn't help but look away, that look on her sisters face – it was one she never wished to see again.

"I do," she reassured him, and when Kagome turned back to face them she caught a glimpse of Kikyos hand just leaving the comfort over InuYasha's, and she knew that her sister was not at all okay with it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: love triangle coming? Hmmm…

RiceBallMaker94 : thank you so much for the review! I will try to keep up the good work and not disappoint :)


	6. Chapter 5

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 5

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I still don't understand why she looked so sad," InuYasha was saying.

"Maybe the whole idea just shocked her."

He looked up very doubtful about what the other man offered as a solution.

Miroku lifted his shoulders, "Listen InuYasha, I don't have any great advice on this. If you ask me, I think you should – if you want an outside source – go and ask Kagome."

InuYasha looked even more doubtful at that reply, "that won't work. She was with me in on it. Why would she know something that I don't?"

Miroku shook his head and patted the other man on the back, "ah, I always wondered what it would be like to be retarded for a day, but at last, my answer is way too much of a burden for even me to face."

InuYasha stared wide-eyed at him, not believing that he would say that entire statement only to call him stupid. "I am really not in the mood for your antics today, Miroku," he replied, showing him that he could go to great lengths as well to sound smart… even if it was just using a simple uncommon word.

Miroku let out a sarcastic laugh, "ah, well I do suppose that you have even surpassed my resources on vocabulary."

InuYasha stared at him hard before turning away. Miroku didn't even deserve a reply for that crap.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kagome made her way through the building and to the top floor. She was really getting rather annoyed with always having to travel across the city just for these meetings, but at the same time, it was her maid-of-honor duties, and she would fulfill them proudly.

The elevator dinged and instantly the polished silver doors opened to the beautiful dark hardwood flooring and polished desk of the secretary and the chairs around her for those who were, in her mind, unluckily waiting to see one of the men that worked on the floor. To her, if you had to see a lawyer, it probably wasn't a good situation to begin with.

She made her way passed the secretary looking for the bridal party, and she was glad to hear them rumbling in a room down the hall. She didn't want to walk in on an awkward situation. One time was enough for her.

She turned to go into the room and right when she got inside the door she ran into a hard chest.

She hoped it was Koga. The two brothers just made situations like this far more awkward, and well, Miroku was a pervert.

"Oi," she had to cringe. It was no such luck.

Kagome backed up, "apologies," she told him as she bowed slightly.

She stood back up to her normal height and hated to see that everyone chose that specific moment to see that she had just arrived.

The blushed burned her cheeks with a fervent heat, and she wished beyond anything that someone would do something to make her feel less awkward.

"Why Kagome, if you wanted to brush against a man, I would be more then happy to be of service."

Kagome turned the other way, the blush increasing. She did believe she asked for her blush to be alleviated, but apparently the gods found her embarrassment most amusing.

"Miroku, you are going to die."

Kagome saw InuYasha start to head towards the group pervert, and she took a deep breath. She didn't know why InuYasha decided to go to her rescue, but she was glad for the change of topic.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"So, what were you two able to accomplish?"

Kagome looked at the piece of paper her sister had given her five days ago, and noticed that nearly everything was checked off.

"Well, we ordered the flowers, and we found some options for invitations, the wedding ceremony, and favors," she told Kikyo.

Kikyo smiled, "wow. Honestly I didn't think you guys would get that much done," she told them with a slight blush.

"Hey!"

"Oi!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kagome and InuYasha asked her in unison.

They looked at each other for a moment, surprised that they had just had the same thought, and to what, her daughter would pick that moment to say jinx, before they looked back at Kikyo.

Kikyo lifted her hands in defense, "I am sorry; it's just that you guys sometime don't work that well together."

All the others decided to nod in agreement.

Kagome furrowed her eyebrow and turned to look at InuYasha, 'did we really not work well together?'

If everyone else thought it was that bad, then why was she starting to think that she and InuYasha were actually a pretty good team? Sure they got in petty arguments, but it was really nothing two people in their twenties couldn't get over.

InuYasha huffed and walked out of the room.

Kagome's eyes widened and went after him, deciding that if he didn't want to be in there, well then neither did she at the moment.

When she made it out in the hall, she just caught a glimpse of InuYasha going to his office. He stormed passed the door and to her luck, forgot to slam it shut, which is exactly what she thought he would do.

She meekly made her way inside and saw him looking out the window.

Quietly she walked over and stood by him. The view from his office really was incredible. You could see nearly half of Tokyo from where they were.

"It pisses me off you know."

Kagome looked over at him.

He shook his head, "all my life, people keep telling me that I am immature when I try as hard as I can to prove them wrong, and just hearing it from Kikyo…"

Kagome nodded her head. She understood where he was coming from, but of course, not in the same way. Her sister doubted a lot of the stuff she did, except for when it came to school.

When it came to responsibilities out side of that though, her interest was almost nonexistent, and Kikyo complained to her lack of enthusiasm for social events. To Kikyo that was the world, but to Kagome, it was just another trivial get together. It really didn't help anyone or anything.

"She didn't mean that it was your fault."

He looked at her. His dark brown eyes searching her blue orbs, and he looked away and turned his head, "that is easy for you to say, you don't let anyone down."

Kagome looked at her hands, before looking back out the floor to ceiling windows, "that couldn't be any further from the truth," she told him sadly.

He furrowed his eyebrow at her, not understanding what she meant, but before he could ask her about it she grabbed his hand, "well let's prove them wrong again and finish this new list she decided to hand us."

He was taken by surprise by her total eagerness, and he did not overlook the fact that her hand was wrapped so securely over his. It was one of the first times that he could remember feeling…wanted and by Kagome Higurashi no less.

InuYasha let out a small chuckle and a deep breath, "let me just get my coat."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They entered the small bistro that was on the list as one of the caterers, and Kagome immediately loved the place. If the food was anything like the atmosphere she knew this small eatery would be serving at one of the biggest events this year.

There was a small bell that InuYasha pushed and a loud ding noise filled the air. Moments later a girl came out.

Kagome could tell right away that she was attractive and by the look on InuYasha's face, she could tell that she was just his type.

"Why, hello there." The girl greeted them. "What can I do for you today?"

"You can give me your number," InuYasha told her smoothly.

Kagome felt like her eyeballs were going to pop out of her head; she had never seen this side of him before. He really knew how to turn on the charm.

The girl on the other side of the counter blushed and covered her giggle.

"InuYasha, we are here for a reason," Kagome interrupted the two.

InuYasha looked back at her, acting as if he had just remembered her, and nodded his head, "right."

"We were thinking about using your food for a wedding."

The girl looked at him confused, "oh, don't worry. It's not mine. I am totally single."

Kagome knocked her head on the glass in front of her glad that the flirting stopped for about two seconds. She had a feeling this would take a lot longer then she scheduled in for it to take.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Well that was productive."

Kagome shot him a death glare, "yes, if the schedule included get cute girls number and ask her on a date."

InuYasha smiled at her, "so you thought she was cute too?"

Kagome smacked her head, "InuYasha really –"

"Kagome?"

Kagome looked ahead and saw someone she hadn't seen in years, "Hojo!"

InuYasha looked at her and was shocked to see her smiling from ear to ear, whoever this guy was, she was sure glad to see him.

Kagome ran ahead of InuYasha to give the other man a hug. He gladly accepted it, and before InuYasha even reached them they had already separated and were catching up.

"I have been good. Kikyo is actually getting married."

Hojo smiled, "Wow, well that's good. We always thought she would get married first, huh?" He asked her as he gave her a head nod.

Kagome smiled and rolled her eyes, "that we did."

"So? Are you free this weekend?"

Kagome's mouth opened and closed.

InuYasha just shook his head, "this guy sure doesn't waste any time," he whispered.

Kagome looked over at him confused, before she hit her head, "Gosh, I totally forgot … Hojo this is InuYasha, and InuYasha this is Hojo."

She noticed how both men began to size each other up, "Hojo, InuYasha is in the bridal party, and InuYasha, Hojo is an old friend."

"Old friend, huh?" InuYasha replied, putting emphasis on friend.

Kagome let out a large puff of air, knowing this battle of masculinity would get them nowhere.

"I guess we should go," Kagome said as she started to walk off, "We got a lot of extra time to make up for, since someone decided to flirt for thirty minutes."

InuYasha, just remembering Makoto, couldn't help the blush that crossed his face.

"Oh, Kagome," Hojo cut in before she could get too far, "about this weekend?"

Kagome put a hand to her face and thought of her schedule of the weekend quickly, and before long she smiled, "I think that sounds great. You still have the same number?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Wha t was all that about?"

Kagome turned toward him, "all what about?"

InuYasha scoffed and turned the other way, "whatever."

Kagome looked at him confused, "are you upset that I talked to Hojo?"

She could barely get the words out. That would be the most ridiculous thing she could possibly think of.

"No," he told her stubbornly.

Kagome shook her head, "then what's the matter?"

InuYasha looked at his watch and noticed it was fifteen minutes after three, "isn't it time to go pick up Ariana?"

Kagome's eyes went wide and looked at her phone before sheepishly smiling at him.

"To the daycare," he told the driver as they got in his town car, glad for once that he could successfully change the subject.

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"But I want to go with you!"

"You are supposed to go to Miyumi's party, remember?"

Ariana stuck out her bottom lip. Now she wanted to do both.

InuYasha laughed, "Why don't we just go quickly, so you can do both?"

Ariana looked at him with such wonder, "you mean it, daddy?"

He smiled at her, "of course."

He saw Kagome out of the corner of his eye with her mouth open, which he supposed meant she was thinking, 'how could you just under-mind my authority after I told her no,' and then by the death glare he received he knew that he was right.

Ariana turned toward Kagome, excited that her daddy said yes, and Kagome agreed with him for once.

InuYasha turned to look out the car window. He had a lot on his mind. First off, he just could not wrap his mind around the fact that he, for some reason, cared that Kagome was going on a date with Hojo, and he just could not understand why he had to care in the first place. It was Kagome here. Not a fine girl that he just happened to meet walking down the street, or a new secretary in his office, no, this was Kagome, and worse of all, it wasn't even Kikyo. Kikyo, well, he really had no reason to be upset with Kikyo, to an extent, but come on!

He looked back at Kagome. She was smiling about something that Ariana had said, and for once, he noticed that maybe it wasn't that far fetched to care that she was going on a date with some random guy. Maybe, for once, Koga was right about her.

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A/N: thanks for reading ! please comment to let me know how you like the story. I am going to try and add as much as I can, but college and family keeps me busy… but I will try my best.

REVIEWS:

Anime Lady PIMP: and the drama will only continue. hehe.

RiceBallMaker94: does she? hmmm...

bridgettecouture: thank you! Hope to keep you interested :)

Sammixoxo: Thank you! Yes, there are going to be even more questions, but I hope that I do _answer_ all of them. I would not want to leave you all hanging.

arizonasiren: thanks. Yes, it is going to be a little confusing until I really get into the climax of the story, but then more confusion will ensue. It happens to be one of the best concepts in writing a story. haha

StevieWonderboyx: in time, yes all questions that you have at this moment should be answered. Thanks, I hope that you do continue to like this story. I did start it a while ago, but I like it, so I decided to post it ;)

Thanks everyone, and please remember to review!


	7. Chapter 6

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 6

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They entered the small club the group was supposed to play, and once they walked in InuYasha realized why it was Kagome did not want Ariana to come. The place was filthy. Not to mention the overwhelming smell of smoke and alcohol coming from the bar area.

He looked sheepishly at Kagome, who was, once again, giving him the death stare of his life.

He was about to suggest that maybe the band "left," so they could just take Ariana to Mayumi's party, but Ariana shot off towards the stage and ran up on the platform.

InuYasha just shook his head; children were unpredictable and could change your outlook in a moment.

"Why would Kikyo want a band that plays here to play at her wedding?" He heard Kagome ask.

InuYasha shook his head, "you got me. Between her and Koga they have enough money to get a professional to come and sing."

Kagome laughed, "That's true."

"Well, would you look at who it is!"

Kagome and InuYasha turned around to see a man that was about the same size and height as InuYasha, but he wore his hair long, and not to mention his immense amount of tattoos that he decided to decorate his body with.

"Bankotsu!" They replied in unison.

"The one and only," he replied in a laugh. He looked at Kagome, "My, my, you look more beautiful every time I see you."

Kagome felt her cheeks heating up, "you don't look bad yourself."

He waved her off, "just a little working out here and there."

InuYasha knocked him over the head, "you are such a baka!"

"Oi," Bankotsu replied, "lay off it, would you!"

At that precise moment, Ariana ran up to Bankotsu, "and who might you be?" Bankotsu asked her.

Ariana studied him, before carefully replying, "Ariana."

"Ariana, huh? Who are you here with?"

Ariana pointed to InuYasha, "my mommy and daddy."

Bankotsu felt like his mouth had just dropped to the floor, "your mommy and daddy."

He looked at InuYasha whose eyes just went wide and Kagome who was sporting the darkest tint of embarrassment that he had seen on her face. "You have got to be kidding me!"

Ariana shook her head, "no, I am completely cereal!"

Bankotsu looked back at the little girl. She had dark hair, and now that he looked at her, he could tell that the girl was telling the truth. She looked like a perfect mixture between the duo before him.

"Well, then, this is unexpected," he replied as he rubbed the back of his head – feeling completely awkward that he was just flirting with Kagome, in front of InuYasha.

"Listen Bankotsu," InuYasha started.

"No, I apologize. If I had known about you two… I would never have been like that with Kagome." He interjected.

"Bankotsu, you really don't understand," InuYasha tried to tell him.

"Ummm, InuYasha," Kagome interrupted.

He looked over at her and saw Ariana on her hip, and his eyes widened.

"I really don't understand what?"

Wide eyed, he turned back to Bankotsu, "Nothing man."

"Oh," Bankotsu smiled, "so I suppose I should congratulate you two."

InuYasha and Kagome looked at each other, and realized once again that they really did not think this plan out very well.

Kagome smiled at him, "Well thank you. Yes, we are very blessed."

Bankotsu huffed a small laugh, "man I would have really never expected you two to get together. I mean, with how hooked InuYasha was on Kikyo."

Bankotsu stopped talking when he saw how awkward both of them became, "Oh, crap! Sorry. I am just going to stop talking."

InuYasha let out a breath, relieved, "that might be a good thing."

"Hey," he replied, but he knew he was just making the entire situation more uncomfortable for the both of them. "So, what brings you guys around here?"

"Aunt Kikyo is getting married!"

Bankotsu looked at the small girl in Kagome's arms and smiled, "Wow! Well, you guys are just throwing one curved ball at me after another, huh?"

"Curved ball?" Ariana voiced.

"It is just a figure of speech, baby… like a different way to say that something was not expected," Kagome told her.

"Yeah, what your mommy said," Bankotsu agreed with her.

"So, Kikyo is getting married. You guys looking for a band?"

"What do you think we are doing here?" InuYasha asked him.

Bankotsu looked at him, "you mean, she wants us to play!" His eyes widened with excitement.

Kagome smiled at him, "well, you were one of the bands on the list," she told him.

"List? Man, when we get done playing for you. There won't be any other bands to consider," he told her confidently.

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"I want them at Aunt Kikyo's wedding!"

InuYasha laughed at her, "Did you think they were that good?"

"They were that good!" She told him with the biggest smile.

"Well, what did mommy think?" He said as they both turned to look at Kagome.

Kagome was just in shock by how well the two of them interacted. It was almost as if they had always been there for each other, but she quickly smiled, "I think mommy thinks they should play at Aunt Kikyo's wedding too!"

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"So, where to next?"

They were walking down the strip towards the center of town. They both wanted to stretch their legs a bit, and since they had just dropped Ariana off at her friends, they thought now was the best time.

Kagome took out the list, "Well, it looks like cake testing."

"Cake, ugh!"

Kagome smiled at him, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"I can't stand sweets!" He told her seriously.

"You have got to be kidding me. Everyone likes sweet stuff."

He shook his head, "Well not me."

"So, no candy bars?"

"Nope."

"Pudding?"

"No."

"Jello?" She asked him, beginning to doubt her plan of action.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "Jello?"

He thought about it for a second, "I can stand jello."

"Well, jello is sweet," she told him obstinately.

He let out a chuckle, "if you would like to think so."

"It is!"

InuYasha shook his head and looked forward. He noticed that it was his favorite club. "How much do you want to bet that jello isn't sweet?"

She looked at him. She didn't like the mischievous smile he was giving her, "InuYasha, I am not betting you. Jello is sweet."

"How much?" He asked her adamantly.

She took in a deep breath and studied him for a moment. She really did not think he would win this, "you can't win this. You know that right?"

"I bet you I can," he told her as he leaned in closer.

Kagome laughed at him, "Well, what do I get if I win?"

InuYasha thought about it a moment, "I will grant you three wishes."

She furrowed her eyebrow, "Yeah, that doesn't sound good enough." She laughed.

"Hah, Kagome, you are lucky I gave you that many. It was only for you to think that you have a chance," he told her cockily.

Kagome laughed at him, "fine, but what do you get if you win?"

He thought about it a moment. Most girls he played the betting game with were someone that he was sure he could get into bed, but with Kagome, well… to say that they didn't have that type of relationship was an understatement.

"How about if I win, you will just have to answer me one question."

That took Kagome off guard, "one question?"

"Yep," he told her smiling.

"What kind of question?"

"It is to be determined at a later date."

"A later date, huh?" She asked him unsure.

"Of course. I wouldn't take advantage of your weakness tonight. I mean, you will lose after all. I can't do too much to you in one day."

Kagome laughed. "But what about the cake testing?"

InuYasha lost his smile, "are we still on that? I thought we moved way past that to the fun stuff."

"InuYasha, you are too much sometimes. We really need to get this done," she told him holding the piece of paper in front of his face.

He looked it over and was surprised to see that nearly all the "to do list" had been checked off for this week. All they had left was the cake testing.

"Kagome, we have like four more days to finish the cake testing. Can't we do it another day?"

"I might not have another day to get this done." She told him seriously.

He hung his head.

"InuYasha, I'll tell you what. If we finish the cake testing early enough… we can go through this little battle you set up."

He grabbed her hand, "well let's get this stuff done!"

As soon as he touched her hand she felt like it was on fire. Did he not notice what he was doing to her?

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"Okay, so we are getting the vanilla and the strawberry?"

He was really getting annoyed. He figured since Kikyo had already picked out the bakery all they would have to do is spend like five minutes to pick out the cake. There were only six different choices that Kikyo narrowed it down to, but no, here they were forty-five minutes later still trying to make a decision.

"I don't know…"

He felt like he was going to pop a blood vessel in his head.

She looked up at him, "Can you please taste it with me?"

InuYasha let out a huff of air, with the way she looked at him with her eyes all big and sad and so indecisive… how could he resist her?

"Fine," he told her as he picked up a fork and began to taste the six different flavors in front of them, and he had to admit they were all pretty good.

"So," Kagome asked him after he had finished.

He looked seriously at the different flavors in front of him, "I might have to try them again."

Kagome burst in laughter, "and to think you were getting on me, because I didn't know how to pick. How about between the strawberry and vanilla." She told him as she pushed those two little plates closer to him.

He shook his head, "you have to put that chocolate in the decision as well," he said as he scooted the little chocolate piece closer to them.

"Well, at least we have eliminated half of the options."

InuYasha bumped his head on the table, "this is going to take forever."

"Perhaps I can offer a solution."

They both looked up to see the owner of the bakery in front of them. She had short brown hair, but she put on a lot of makeup. She definitely was one of those girls that cared about her appearance.

"What did you have in mind?"

Kagome rolled her eyes at the way InuYasha's words came from his mouth. He was trying to flirt with her again. It's not like the first five minutes after they walked in weren't awkward enough.

"How about you just do each flavor in a tier. Your sister wanted a three tiered cake, right?"

Kagome smiled at her, "right. That's not a bad idea, but which one do we want the most of?"

InuYasha knocked his head, once again, on the table, "Kagome."

Kagome felt her face flush, "I'm sorry."

The owner laughed, "how about vanilla for the bottom, chocolate for the middle, and strawberry for the top."

The two thought about it a moment, before they both nodded their heads.

"Sounds good," Kagome told her.

"Now, about your number," InuYasha began as he walked over to her.

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Kagome felt blinded to say the least, and the people were crowding all around her. This was one place she did not want to be.

"InuYasha, can we go, now?"

She stuck out her bottom lip when he continued walking.

The place was so loud that he probably couldn't hear her. The only way that the two of them could stay together in this crowd was that Kagome was holding onto his blue button down shirt.

"Ah," Kagome thought, and she pulled on it.

Immediately he turned around.

Kagome got close to his ear, "can we go now?" she yelled.

He shook his head, "you promised," he told her as he gave her a toothy grin.

From that one look, Kagome felt her heart flutter, and her cheeks flushed.

InuYasha looked at her concerned, "are you feeling okay?"

Kagome had to brace herself. She didn't understand why _that_ feeling came. She looked at him, still with a slight blush on her cheeks and nodded her head. At that moment, she would do anything that he asked, and for the first time, she couldn't figure out why.

He led her over to the bar and ordered something. She really couldn't hear, so she just waited.

He brought back two tiny glasses filled with a dark red jelly consistency.

"What is this?" She asked him cautiously.

He smiled at her, "it's jello."

She cocked an eyebrow at him, "jello?" This was definitely not a place she thought would sell jello.

"Yep. Now, try it," he told her as he drank it… if that was the proper word. How can a person drink jello?

She lifted it to her mouth, and immediately she tasted the sourness of it.

She gave him a sour look and covered her mouth, "that is not jello."

He laughed at her, "oh, but it is. It's called sour puss."

She stuck out her tongue, "Eww that was nasty."

"Have you seriously never had a jello shot? How can you be like twenty-five and never have a jello shot?" This idea was too weird.

Kagome lifted her shoulders in defense, "First, I am only twenty-four, and second, I have always been busy with school. Did you forget that I am not Kikyo," she told him sarcastically.

He shook his head. He knew they were different, but he would have never guessed that they would be _this_ different.

"So, this means that I won, right?" He told her with a mischievous smile.

Kagome looked at him, suddenly nervous. She really didn't know what she got herself into.

She bit her bottom lip, "yes, you won," she submitted.

"Yes," he replied as he gave her a little victory dance. "So, I get one question, right?"

She looked at him shocked, "I thought we were saving that 'for a later date'," she told him as she put quotes around the words.

He lifted his shoulders, "well, yea, but I have to get at least something for being right."

Kagome hit her head, "yes," she hated how he was dragging this out.

"Shoot more jello shots with me?" He asked her with a grin.

She looked at him confused… that was not what she thought he wanted.

"Are you serious?"

He laughed, "Well yea, we are out. Might as well."

Kagome laughed, "You sure surprise me, InuYasha Takahashi."

"I hope that's a good thing."

She locked eyes with him, "it is."

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A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it.

So, just took my last final exam. I did okay lol. Passed all but one class, but I suppose that happens to the best of us when we take 5 classes at one time, have a 2 year old, and a husband to take care of haha.

But I am just glad for the holiday : )

REVIEWS:

RiceBallMaker94: Yay! I am glad you are liking it. Hopefully, I will continue to impress : )

StevieWonderboyx: The story is going to be slightly confusing, since there are a lot of moving parts with trying to concrete the flow. As for the daughter, she might ask questions eventually, but right now, InuYasha is over ALL the time, and him and Kagome look like the enjoy each other and in my experience that is really all little kids care about. They want their mommy and daddy to be happy _together_, so that is what I am trying to incorporate in this story.

Anime Lady PIMP: thank you! Hopefully, I will continue to impress. I am always looking for suggestions, so if there is anything you see that is lacking just let me know : )

Sammixoxo: Yeah, he hasn't technically got there _yet_ but I am building it up for him. I am really glad to hear you like it. It is always such an inspiration to me to know that people really do enjoy reading my work. I do it for the love of writing, so when you all like it… it is the best feeling in the world.

Guest: thank you! I am glad that I am keeping the story interesting to you. Hopefully, you continue to enjoy reading the story.


	8. Chapter 7

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 7

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Kagome woke up the next morning with a blistering headache. She was grateful that today was Friday. Her only day off, but at least, it was a day off.

She made her way to the living room and was surprised to see InuYasha.

"What are you doing?"

He got up off the couch and stretched, "well, I was sleeping until you scared the crap out of me."

"That's not what I meant. What are you doing here?"

He looked at her confused, "I crashed here, but not before we made sweet love."

Kagome's face blazed red, "you have better be kidding."

"I was," InuYasha laughed, "but your face was priceless. You really can't remember anything?"

Kagome shook her head.

"Hm, I will have to remember that the next time we go out," he said as he put a finger to his chin.

"Next time? InuYasha, I don't have time to just go out and do jello shots with you."

He lifted his shoulders, "your loss."

He picked up his coat, "I'm outta here."

Kagome looked at him, not understanding the complete change in his behavior, "wait… you can stay for breakfast if you want."

He laughed at her, "Kagome, it is almost one in the afternoon. I am going to pick up Ariana, and I have a date that I can't be late for."

Kagome looked at the clock and her mouth hung open, "Oh my gosh, I can't sleep this long!"

He smiled as she swung into her bedroom, before he made his way to the door. He had a little girl he was looking forward to see after all.

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Kagome looked at the glistening white marble floors and the tall ceilings. It was weird to see such a restaurant like this in Japan. She would never have guessed how much Japanese and American culture shared, whether it was the food, the clothes, or building design.

She took in a deep breath and looked at the tall glass of water as she circled her finger around the top; she knew she had just made the worst mistake of all.

"Kagome."

She turned to see him bustling towards her.

He looked just as she remembered: tall, dark haired, with his dark brown eyes. It seemed to her as if no time had passed at all, albeit she did just see him about a week ago.

"Hojo," she replied as she stood to embrace him in a hug.

He was always a good friend, always there when she needed him.

"So," he began as he waited for her to sit and immediately he followed, "I can't believe it has been five years!"

She laughed softly, "I know. I have been hearing that a lot."

He smiled reassuring at her, "well I am glad that you are back."

She nodded her head, "I think I am too."

He laughed, "You don't sound so sure."

Kagome tilted her head as she thought about her reply, "it's just that there are still a lot of loose ends that need to be mended."

Hojo nodded at her, "Oh, I see," he told her politely, not wanting to pry if she didn't want to divulge the information.

Kagome smiled at him. That was one thing she could always count on from him, he always thought about others around him. A person didn't see that too often these days.

Kagome took in a deep breath, knowing this would hurt him, "So, I have a daughter now."

He looked wide-eyed at her, recovering his stuttering, "Oh, well I am happy to hear that."

Kagome smiled sadly at him as she pulled out her cell phone to show him the picture of Ariana that was saved as her background, "well thank you. Yeah, she will be five in about five months."

"Wow," Hojo replied.

Kagome cringed. This was the last thing she wanted to do to him, "I know it's sudden, and I am sorry I never told you."

Hojo nodded his head, "Kagome, I am just glad that you are being honest with me. I know that's a hard thing to do," he replied as he placed his hand over hers.

Kagome smiled at him. She was glad to have one man in her life that never let her down.

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InuYasha couldn't help but look at her. With the way she wore her hair in long curls and a small amount of makeup she really looked like Kikyos replica, but that illusion was gone as soon as he saw her glasses, and he knew it was Kagome, but still… he had never noticed how much they really looked a like.

'She seemed like she could sure clean up well, at least,' he thought to himself.

He was about to go over and say hello when a tall man entered the picture. He looked nice, from all appearances, but there was something about him that just made him feel skeptical. Of what, he didn't know, but the more he saw them interact, the less he seemed to enjoy seeing the man sitting with Kagome.

Maybe it was because there was a man that could potentially take Kagome away from him and in turn, Ariana as well, or maybe that was what he wished to believe.

He saw Kagome look at the man sadly, and then take out her cell phone.

It was hard to judge what the man was thinking, but he seemed to have a horrible look on his face.

Immediately he remembered meeting him the other day. It was that Hojo guy that she was so excited to see.

He decided he had seen enough and turned back to his table just in time to see his date walk in.

She had nice hips and just a small amount of cleavage showing in her dark blue dress. It was the one he bought for her after all.

"Makoto," he called to her as she made her way to the table.

She smiled with a small blush aligning her cheeks. She was a bit younger then him, twenty-one, but he loved the way she viewed the world. She was always so passionate; something that he hoped could rub off on him.

"I am glad to see you, InuYasha," Makoto replied as she kissed his cheek.

His smile was dashing, "Likewise."

She opened her mouth to say something, but InuYasha completely missed it, because at that moment, Kagome and Hojo walked out of the restaurant, and InuYasha couldn't help but notice that they were holding hands.

"InuYasha?" He heard Makoto ask him cautiously.

"Huh?" He turned back towards her, just noticing that he missed what she said.

She looked down at her hands, "I was just asking what you were in the mood for…?"

He took in a deep breath, suddenly at a loss of appetite, "We can get whatever you want babe," he told her with a fake smile.

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He dropped her off shortly after they had finished eating, and he just felt like walking.

This raw feeling he had just kept encompassing him.

'Who was Hojo to Kagome?'

She told him that he was just a friend, but a guy that was just your friend did not have the privilege of also holding your hand.

He hung his head as he let out a deep breath.

"I am glad."

He looked up and was surprised to see Hojo and Kagome in front of her apartment door.

'How did I walk all the way to her apartment?'

She smiled at him, "you were always too nice to me."

Hojo rubbed the back of his head as a blush came to his cheeks, "Well, honestly, Kagome, there was always a reason for that…"

"Huh?" Kagome asked him. She didn't understand why he suddenly got so flustered.

"Kagome, I –"

"Kagome!"

Kagome turned her head to look at who had just yelled her name and was surprised to see InuYasha.

"InuYasha?"

He looked at her and smiled, "Well, what do we have here?"

Kagome and Hojo glimpsed at each other quickly, before quickly turning away and blushing.

"Oh, InuYasha, stop turning everything perverted. We are just friends," Kagome huffed at him.

Hojo looked at her with his eyes wide.

InuYasha cringed.

He felt bad for the other man.

Hojo let his head fall, "she's right." He agreed as he looked at him as well.

Kagome looked at Hojo, noticing his appearance, "Hojo, are you feeling well?"

He took in a deep breath, "Yeah, I think I have just had a long day. I guess I should call it a night, huh?"

He told her with an awkward chuckle.

Kagome looked at him a moment longer. "I suppose, but we should definitely do this again," she told him with a smile.

He smiled sadly at her, "Of course. See you, Kagome."

He turned to InuYasha, "InuYasha."

"Hojo," InuYasha acknowledged, and then the man walked away.

InuYasha watched him walk away; knowing that he had just completely crushed the other mans dreams.

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A/N: Poor Hojo. Never seems to work out for him does it? Let me know what you think :)

REVIEWS:

Sammixoxo : I love the fact that you did a happy dance. It literally made my day :) As for the resemblance... it is there, but I think people either a) have yet to meet the little girl or b) don't really take the time to look for resemblances, since they are busy with other things. Ariana and her father are kind of on the back burner for everyone else, since the wedding is the main priority, but in time more and more people are going to start questioning about the father. It should be interesting. Thanks for the review :)

Anime Lady PIMP : I tried to make it somewhat authentic haha. Although I did have to ask around. I have had alcoholic drinks, but I am Kagome in this story. We do not drink liquor haha.

RiceBallMaker94 : Although in normal circumstances there would probably be a lot of emotions. I am trying to hold off on the deeper issues until later in the story. I hoped you liked this latest update though. I wanted to put a little banter between our favorite couple in there. I just think it is too cute when InuYasha teases her... in a non-cannon way of course. My InuYasha is a womanizer, so he would definitely be closer to Miroku in the manga/anime lol.

Arizonasiren : why thank you! I am glad to see that you are still reading :) I talked to a lot of the girls that used to write fanfiction, and they have moved on to other things (college mostly), so it is good to see a familiar face after all this time :)


	9. Chapter 8

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 8 – Family Day

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"No way!"

InuYasha shook his head, "I am completely serious. Miroku landed flat on his face."

Kagome burst in laughter, "He is too much sometimes!"

InuYasha smiled at her, "yeah, he can be a real winner sometimes."

Kagome shook her head, "Okay, now, you have to ask me."

He looked at her. Her hair all disheveled around her shoulders. Her eyes smiling, sitting across from him Indian style, and for the second time that night, he couldn't deny how attractive she was.

He looked at her serious, "alright, truth or dare?"

He knew that this was one of those games corny teenagers played, but, right at this moment, he could care less.

Kagome scrunched up her nose, "truth."

He rolled his eyes; he was about tired of truths. Frankly, he was running out of questions to ask.

"Okay, let's see," he replied as he thought of something that might be useful to him, and then he thought of it, "Why don't you have a boyfriend?"

Immediately the smile went away from her face and a blush blazed her cheeks, "why would you go and ask something like that?"

He laughed as she stuck out her bottom lip, "pouting will not get your answer alleviated, and you know what happens if you lose…" he told her as he nodded at her suggestively.

Kagome's eyes widened as her blush increased, and immediately her arms covered her body. One thing she wished she had thought over more completely was _strip_ truth or dare.

Kagome took a deep breath, and gave him an answer she truly believed. "I guess… it's just because no one is really interested," she told him honestly.

InuYasha looked at her like she had lost her mind. "You can't possibly really think that?" he asked her doubtful.

She shrugged her shoulders, "it really isn't that hard to believe, InuYasha." She laughed bitterly at him, "even the first time I saw you… you didn't even notice me."

He looked at her as his eyes widened, knowing that she was telling the truth.

He shook his head, "you just have to let people get to know you."

Kagome smiled sadly at him, "yeah, and for the ones that get that far the 'oh, and I have a daughter,' kinda kills it."

InuYasha shook his head. "It wouldn't kill it for me," he told her honestly.

Kagome looked at him wide-eyed with a blush painting her cheeks.

"Now, let's get back to the game," he told her as he scratched the back of his head, trying to change the subject.

Kagome smiled and shook her head, "all right. Truth or dare?"

InuYasha concentrated a second, "dare."

Kagome looked at him wide-eyed. She was not expecting the game to actually have any dares.

"All right," she said sheepishly.

She decided at that moment that this was not a game you wanted to play with boys.

All thoughts were on kissing or streaking… what other dare was there… really?

And then she thought of the perfect dare, "got it!"

He looked skeptical at her.

She smiled mischievously, "I want you to call Miroku and tell him that he has the nicest butt, and you would love to take him out tomorrow."

His eye began flinching, "that is not going to happen."

Kagome smiled at him, "well, you know the rules."

He narrowed his eyes at her, but he immediately took off his shirt.

Kagome felt her heart stagger in her chest, and her eyes bulge out of her head.

"Like what you see, Kagome?" He asked her confidently.

Kagome turned away from him, pink aligning her cheeks.

"Just go," she told him, unable to look at him.

He rolled his eyes, "all right, truth or dare?"

She bit her bottom lip before answering, "dare."

"Whoa, being courageous aren't we," he told her smiling.

She rolled her eyes, knowing he was just making fun of her, "Just get it over with."

"Hmm," he said as his index finger went to his chin. He knew he had to make it something good, and then he thought of it. The perfect dare, not to mention, it was something he would really want.

"I dare you to…take off your shirt for the rest of the game," he told as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"InuYasha," Kagome replied as her cheeks turned that bright pink color.

"Kagome, you are going to have to stop blushing during our little games."

Kagome looked at him and decided that two could play his sneaky little game, and she slowly took off her shirt.

When she looked at him, she was not at all surprised to see that he looked as if his eyes were going to pop out of his head.

"Success," Kagome said to herself.

"Oi, what does that mean?" InuYasha asked offended.

"You can hear me? Well, that's a surprise."

"Hey!"

Kagome started laughing; she just couldn't believe that she was sitting there with her shirt off.

"Hmff," InuYasha grumbled. "Whatever, it's my turn."

Kagome smiled at him, "Okay, truth or dare?"

"Truth," he answered as he rolled his eyes.

She thought of the perfect question, but first, "is it okay to get serious?" She asked him.

That took him off guard, "Um, I guess so. Isn't that the meaning behind this game?"

Kagome shrugged her shoulders, "I guess."

She took in a deep breath, "do you still love Kikyo?"

Honestly, the question did take him off guard.

He shrugged his shoulders, "…in a way I will always love Kikyo."

"Oh," Kagome answered quietly.

"But, recently, actually," he continued, "I noticed that I am not in love with her." He locked eyes with her, "You know what I mean?"

She felt her breath leave her. There was no way he was alluding what she thought he was alluding to. She really had to get her mind centered on something more substantial... not to mention her mouth suddenly felt too dry to be normal.

"Yeah," she answered, finally finding her voice.

There was a moment of silence, which she was moderately grateful for. Well half of her was grateful that the awkward conversation stopped, while the other half of her mind was constantly forming new questions.

"Hey, Kagome," InuYasha started.

"Yes," she hesitated. She was not ready to go back into _that _conversation.

"Have you ever told Ariana's father about her?"

Kagome took a deep breath, "No." This was not where she expected the conversation to go either.

InuYasha looked at her shocked, "no? But why?"

To him, this was not something a person should hide from anyone, and here he was thinking that the dude was the biggest douche-bag on the planet.

Kagome shook her head. "It is a lot more complicated then you can imagine," she told him truthfully.

"How can that be?" He asked doubtful.

She turned and looked at him. He could see the hurt buried in her blue orbs. "Would you tell someone something when it would have consequences on everything? When you know nothing really about that person, but you know that it will change their life forever? I was only with the guy for one night, InuYasha. He didn't even know I existed," she told him sadly.

"How can you be so sure of that? He knew you enough to sleep with you, didn't he?"

She laughed bitterly at him, "that's where you are wrong… so wrong."

He shook his head, "I just don't understand."

"Good, maybe it isn't meant for you to understand," she told him as she got up.

He grabbed her hand. "Know this, Kagome," he told her seriously. "If it was me, I would want to know, and I would sure as hell know that you exist."

She looked at him wide-eyed, taken-aback at what he had just confessed.

She stood there a moment, really thinking about what he had said, "InuYasha, I need to –"

"I am out of here, Kagome. Catch you tomorrow," and he closed the door behind him.

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InuYasha rolled over and looked at his clock.

It was fifteen past four.

He had left Kagome's about an hour ago. He just couldn't understand her.

'Why would anyone really want to hide something like that?'

He shook his head. He knew that sleep was the last thing on his mind, so he just got out of bed and headed towards his kitchen.

He quickly scanned the inside and noticed that his eating out really left him with no kind of food to heat up. He looked in the cupboard, and to his surprise he found some chicken flavored ramen which was his favorite.

When his food was done cooking, he quickly picked up the little packet of seasoning and headed towards the living room. He thought he might as well watch something, since he couldn't sleep and all.

Just when he was beginning to believe that nothing good comes on T.V after four in the morning, his phone went off.

'Is it?'

He suddenly wanted her to talk to him.

'Oh,' he sighed sadly. "It's Makoto," he said to himself.

Received: HEY :)  
4:24 11/15/2013

He rolled his eyes.

Sent: Hey baby  
4:26 11/15/2013

He searched through his contacts until he got to the name he wanted.

Sent: Can we talk?  
4:27 11/15/2013

Received: …About?  
4:27 11/15/2013

He shook his head. It wasn't as if he was sorry that he said his mind. He was telling the truth after all, but…

Sent: I might have crossed a line…  
4:28 11/15/2013

Received: No, you are right… it's just hard…  
4:30 11/15/2013

Sent: You should tell him sometime, you know?  
4:31 11/15/2013

Received: Yeah, maybe some day I will…  
4:32 11/15/2013

Sent: Good :)  
4:33 11/15/2013

Sent: So, I was thinking that we have a family day tomorrow…?  
4:35 11/15/2013

Received: Family day..?  
4:36 11/15/2013

Sent: Yeah, where it's just you, me, and Ariana. I think it would be good for us  
4:37 11/15/2013

Received: Idk… I have a busy day as it is…  
4:40 11/15/2013

Sent: come on! You know Ariana would love it :(  
4:42 11/15/2013

Received: …fine, but it will have to be in the morning. I am scheduled to work at three.  
4:45 11/15/2013

Sent: I will be at your apartment by 11 ;)  
4:46 11/15/2013

InuYasha smiled happily for the first time that night, and made his way to his bedroom to get some much needed sleep.

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She heard her phone go off at exactly eleven a.m., and she was not at all surprised to see that it was him.

"Hello?"

"Hey, you two ready? I am down stairs in the car…"

"Ariana, come on honey. Daddy is here!"

Immediately she saw the young girl zoom into the living room, and instead of her being the one that was dragging her daughter along, her daughter pulled her by the hand, "come on, mommy!"

Kagome laughed into the phone, "We will be down there in a minute."

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"So, what fun things are we going to do today, daddy?" Ariana asked as she focused her big brown eyes on InuYasha.

"It's a secret," he told her with a grin.

Her mouth opened wide in excitement, "did you hear that mommy? Daddy has something special planned!"

"Yes, I heard it, baby," Kagome answered as she smiled back.

Kagome focused her eyes on InuYasha, and he just gave her a wink. She rolled her eyes, knowing that he was not about to give anything away, and she began to wonder why it was that he wanted to have a family day all of the sudden.

'It's not as if we aren't together most days anyway,' Kagome thought as she looked out the window, 'but then again, it's not like he has had that much time with her to begin with,' she finished sadly.

They made their way uptown and Kagome's mind started traveling back to last night when InuYasha so randomly asked her that question.

She looked over at him just then. He was smiling with such wonder at what Ariana was saying, and she knew that he was right. She had to tell him.

She rubbed her head, 'but when is a proper time?'

She didn't get a chance to divulge the thought, because they suddenly began to slow down, and Ariana let out a small excited scream, "the zoo! Mommy, daddy is taking us to the zoo!"

Kagome could only smile in amazement at her daughter; she loved how happy she was. "I see that. Daddy is trying to be very nice to us today, isn't he?"

"Oh, he is nice all the time," Ariana defended.

"That's right. Tell mommy," InuYasha replied as he placed his arms across his chest.

Kagome lifted her hands in defense, "okay, you are right. Daddy is nice." She relented.

Ariana smiled proudly up at InuYasha and then placed her hand in his, "come on daddy," she began as she dragged him out of the car, "I want to show you the ZEE-bras."

"Alright, slow down there, kiddo," InuYasha replied laughing.

"There's no time! We have to move really fast if we want to see all the animals," Ariana told him as she continued towards the front gate.

"Well, you heard her Kagome," InuYasha yelled over his shoulder as he made eye contact with Kagome.

"Hey, I am right behind you guys," Kagome grumbled up at him.

"Come on, mommy!" Ariana yelled back at her.

"Yeah, come on, mommy!" InuYasha told her as he smiled at her.

Kagome felt a blush creeping on her cheeks.

"I am coming. I am coming," Kagome told them as she ran to catch up.

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Kagome decided that staying behind them was the best place to be.

"Look daddy!" Ariana said as she pointed inside the tank. "What is that?"

"That is a walrus," he told her as he lifted her up on his shoulders.

"Oh, mommy, look at the WALL-rus!" she said trying to sound the word out.

Kagome smiled as she came over to the tank, "wow, he sure is big, huh?"

"Oh yea, he is huge!" She replied starring intently at the brown animal with two huge tusks.

Ariana turned her head, "what is that?" She asked InuYasha excitedly.

InuYasha turned his head in the direction that she pointed, "Those are penguins."

He let her down so that she could run over to the tank. They were swimming close to the glass, while others where spreading their wings as if they were going to fly.

"I want one!" Ariana said as she looked up at InuYasha.

He looked down at her. Her face covered with a big smile with one hand perched on the glass. He felt bad, but he knew that he had to tell her, "you can't take that home, baby."

The smile immediately left her face, and she turned to Kagome, "really mommy, I can't have one?"

Kagome hated when her daughter gave her the pouty face. "Daddy is right, baby. You can't take a penguin home."

She hung her head. Her hand slowly falling from the glass.

"Hey," InuYasha replied as he lifted her up. "You want to see the king of the jungle?"

She looked at him curiously, "King of the jungle?"

He smiled, "you want to see him?"

She nodded her head fast, "yeah!"

Kagome was amazed with how well he got her over her little slump.

'He's a natural,' she thought as she followed them to the lion's cage.

"Mommy!"

Kagome walked over to her daughter who was pointing excitedly at a lion.

"That's the king of the jungle," she told her smiling.

Kagome smiled at her, "well, who taught you that?"

Ariana had the biggest smile on her face, "daddy."

Kagome looked at InuYasha. She already knew that he had told her.

"How about I take a picture of you and daddy," Kagome asked as she took her phone out.

Ariana smiled, "Yeah! It will be my first picture with daddy."

InuYasha looked sort of out of place, "a picture?" He had no idea there would be photos involved.

"Yeah, daddy, so we can have a picture together – just you and me," Ariana told him seriously.

InuYasha grinned down at her and put her on his shoulders, "well then, mommy better take a great picture 'cause its going on daddy's desk at work."

Kagome felt her heart flutter at the way Ariana was smiling at him. It was a way she had never seen before, and for the first time – just as the camera snapped the photo, she knew that InuYasha made the perfect father.

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A/N: Hope everyone likes this update. I will try to load up more as soon as possible.

REVIEWS:

RiceBallMaker94 : I always felt bad for Hojo, but I love the InuYasha and Kagome pairing that I could never actually put the two together. Lol.

Guest : thank you! I hope I continue to deliver awesome content. Still have so much in store for this story.

Anime Lady PIMP : I know! :( poor guy.

Peace : glad to hear that you like it :)

fanficnewbiee : thank you! It is always awesome to get a brand new reviewer. I hope you continue to like the story as it progresses :)


	10. Chapter 9

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 9 – The Next Step

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"That was the best surprise ever daddy!"

He smiled at her, "Well I am glad you liked it, but you better like surprises 'cause from now on, I am going to take you and mommy out once a week."

The little girl grinned from ear to ear and quickly turned to Kagome, "did you hear that, mommy?"

Kagome was just starring at InuYasha in awe; she had no idea that he was going to start some type of family ritual.

She looked at Ariana, "I sure did, baby."

"Where are you going to take us next, daddy?" Ariana asked him excited.

InuYasha shook his head, "now, if I told you… it wouldn't be a surprise now would it. No, you two will just have to wait until next week to find out, since mommy has to go to work and all."

Ariana's shoulders slumped, "that's not fair."

"Ariana, how can you say that? Daddy is being very nice," Kagome chastised her.

Ariana gave her a pout, "I know he is being nice, but…"

Kagome looked at her daughter with a bit of worry, "what is it?"

"We hardly spend any time with daddy," Ariana told her with tears in her eyes.

Kagome's eyes widened, and she locked glances with InuYasha.

"Well, that's why I am going to start taking you two out once a week," InuYasha told her to try and cheer her up.

Ariana rubbed her eyes and shook her head, "But there are still so many days that we don't have daddy time."

Kagome's heart lurched.

She wanted to make up for lost time.

Kagome took a deep breath; this was going to be awkward, "Listen, InuYasha, how about you stay with us?"

InuYasha looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"That's the best idea ever!" Ariana interjected.

InuYasha looked at her wide-eyed, "and why is that the best idea ever?"

He really could not understand.

Ariana gave her little pout, "because then we will be together always. Don't you want that, daddy?"

InuYasha felt his heart go out to the little girl. He did want to make her happy, but this was crossing a line.

"I don't know if that is such a good idea, Ariana."

"Why not? Mommies and daddies are supposed to live together."

'This is true,' he thought sadly.

"I know that, but mommy and daddy… we…" InuYasha looked at Kagome for some help.

"Ariana, how about mommy and daddy talk about it when we get home, okay?" Kagome asked her with a smile.

"Will you get daddy to say yes?" Ariana asked her sadly.

Kagome giggled at her daughter, "we will talk about it, okay?"

"Okay," she answered putting her head down.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"This is not a good idea," InuYasha told her.

Kagome shook her head, "I never said it was the best idea, but don't you see?"

"See what?"

Kagome sat on the couch and let out a big puff of air. It was quiet a moment, before she started to speak, "she wants to make up for lost time, InuYasha. One day just isn't enough."

InuYasha felt deflated, "oh."

"It would be weird for me too, don't get me wrong, but at the same time, I do want Ariana to be happy, and you know," Kagome started looking at him with a smile, "for the first time today, I think she was truly happy, and I want to see her like that all the time."

InuYasha rubbed his forehead, "but what about us? What does this mean?"

"As far as I am concerned we can just have the same type of relationship. Nothing has to get weird, and besides, you are here like all the time anyways," she told him jokingly.

He let out a small chuckle, "I guess you're right."

"Should we tell Ariana now?"

He smiled, "sure."

"Ariana," Kagome called to her daughter.

Ariana ran into the living room, "yes."

The duo on the couch could tell that the little girl was waiting anxiously.

"Daddy is going to stay."

Ariana's face brightened up with the biggest smile, "really?"

"Really," InuYasha answered, and before they knew it, they were surrounded in their first family hug.

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Now, when they said stay… what Kagome and InuYasha really meant was stay until Ariana went to sleep. They did both have boundaries after all.

"I love you daddy," Ariana told him as she began to close her eyes.

He felt his breath catch in his throat as he starred down at the little girl.

Love.

He had those feelings before, but never for someone so small – so gentle, but this feeling that he had when he looked at Ariana, it was still warm, still amazing, still –

"I love you too, Ariana," he told her with a smile, and he did.

He loved her too.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"So, have you talked to Ariana's father about her yet?"

Kagome looked at him shocked. This was a real change in topic.

"He knows about her." She told him truthfully.

"Oh," he replied quietly.

It wasn't as if the other man shouldn't know he had a daughter, but where would that put him now.

"How did it go?"

Kagome took a deep breath and thought of the best way to answer, "he loves her as if no time has passed at all."

InuYasha shook his head, "Yeah that is a good thing."

"Yeah, it is."

"Does Ariana know about him?"

Kagome's eyes widened, "the whole story? No. I don't really want to make things complicated more so then they already are."

InuYasha nodded his head, 'she means with me in the picture.'

"Well, I think I will be getting out of here," he told Kagome quietly.

"Oh."

He looked at her strangely, "What?"

Kagome felt a blush rise on her cheeks, "well, I was just thinking. I mean, I know what we talked about, but since it is so late I thought…"

"You thought?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I just thought you could stay here tonight, if you want," she told him as her blush increased.

"My, my, Kagome, I didn't know you liked me _that_ way," he told her with a smirk.

Her eyes widened, "what? Hey, I didn't mean it that way!"

He shrugged, "sure. I know you have had your eyes on me, since the first day we meant."

Kagome rolled her eyes, "oh, I guess you know me so well."

"Whatever."

"Hey, you don't get to end it."

He shook his head, "we both have an early start tomorrow, so we better get some sleep."

"I guess you are right," Kagome replied looking down.

He smiled back at her, "hey, don't look so down. I will be back in the morning."

"InuYasha!"

"Catch you later Kagome," he replied before she could throw her shoe that she was taking off at him.

The door slammed shut behind him, and Kagome huffed, "I can't believe that guy."

Kagome let out a large puff of air as she sat back on the couch, 'but… there is still so much that needs to come out in the open.'

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A/N: well I guess that I got a little further then I thought I could.. whew.. I feel like this story is starting to show itself. Hope you all like it!

Sorry for the late update. Been busy with family and trying to enjoy the break, but I know you all do not want to wait forever for an update... I know how much I hate it when a story I am all consumed in never gets updated for years (besides Savwah of course lol) and just thank you for taking time out of your day to read and review my stories. It means so much to me :D

REVIEWS:

Anime Lady PIMP: Yeah, I would not want to be in her place either. As for the pregnancy, I tried to think of a circumstance that would be most believable...with him forgetting and all... so I hope I make it believable. There are only a few ways I can see that happening, but if you think of anyway that you believe would explain that entire situation, I would take it into consideration. Thank you for the review :)

fanficnewbiee: Thank you :) I am always trying to make it believable. I try to write either from experience or from people that I know, although not _everything_ is from experience and I have to be creative, but I hope to do my best and not let all you down.

RiceBallMaker94: It doesn't seem right does it? haha. Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.


	11. Chapter 10

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 10 – Family Resemblance

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

InuYasha was sitting in his office.

He hated Mondays, and to be honest, he didn't have a really good reason… just that they ruined his weekend.

He opened his cell phone and glanced at the picture of him and Ariana that Kagome took at the zoo. He made her promise to send it to him, and he couldn't believe how much this one picture meant to him.

Ariana's hands were holding firmly unto his head, and she had the biggest grin on her face. It was a grin he was beginning to love more and more.

He then went to the next picture; it was one of Kagome and Ariana. He took it when they weren't watching.

He couldn't help the way he smiled when he looked at it.

"Why are you so happy today?"

InuYasha turned to Miroku, who – without surprise – had a perverted grin on his face.

InuYasha shook his head, "why does everything have to be so perverted with you?"

Miroku quickly made his way next to InuYasha and was inspecting his cell phone, "Oh, it's a picture of Kagome."

InuYasha's eyes widened as he looked at the other man who was in the process of waging his eyebrows. "Oi," he told him as he pushed the other man away.

"There has to be something about the Higurashi women and you," Miroku continued.

"Higurashi women?"

InuYasha looked at the door and was not surprised to see Koga standing there. "What's this about Higurashi women?"

"Hey! Why don't you get out of my office!"

"InuYasha clearly has a thing for Miss Kagome," Miroku told Koga who was in the process of taking a seat inside of InuYasha's office.

"I knew he would. She is pretty fine after all," Koga agreed.

InuYasha sat in his chair a moment with his fist tightly clenched, and his eye twitching, "it is a picture of Kagome and Ariana."

"Oh, so that is the little girl in the picture," Miroku mused aloud as he brought his finger to his chin.

"I did hear that Kagome has a daughter," Koga said in agreement.

"Have you figured out who the father is?"

Miroku looked at him puzzled, "why would that be a secret?"

"Because, she hasn't even told the father," Koga told him.

Dawning crossed Miroku's face, "I see, well from all appearances, I thought she was InuYasha's daughter."

InuYasha smacked him across the head, "if that is not the most retarded thing I have heard!"

"Let me see the picture," Koga replied as he leaned over and took the phone from InuYasha.

"Could you two get out?!"

The duo ignored InuYasha.

"See," Miroku pointed out as they went from the picture of Kagome and Ariana to the picture of InuYasha and Ariana. "Ariana clearly has brown eyes while Kagome has blue."

Koga shook his head, "but that can be coincidental. There is no way to truly prove that Kagome had a child by InuYasha, except that nose curve," Koga paused to look at InuYasha. "She clearly has a Takahashi nose."

Miroku studied InuYasha who was steaming with his arms crossed, "Ah, you are absolutely right."

"Listen, there is no way Ariana is my child," InuYasha interjected as he slammed his hand against his desk.

"And you know this for a fact?" Miroku asked him full of doubt.

"What does that mean, of course I do!"

"Kagome and Kikyo look very similar, so you are positive that you never confused Kagome for Kikyo?"

Koga nodded his head, "he is right. The two do look very similar."

"You are the biggest idiot, Koga," he replied deadpanned.

"So, does that mean you are not sure?" Miroku persisted.

"No, of course I have never mistook Kagome for Kikyo."

"Never?"

"Look, the only way she can be related to me is if Kagome slept with Sesshomaru."

At that precise moment, Sesshomaru walked in with Rin right behind him, "I have not fathered any children."

Rin nodded somewhat annoyed, "believe me, he would not be the father of any child."

Then they left.

After about a five second pause, "how did they hear that?"

"I have no clue," Koga answered Miroku.

InuYasha was sitting there amazed, and then he got up and ran towards the door, "Wait…okay…does that mean that you are a virgin?"

Sesshomaru turned around and looked at InuYasha who was about to fall on the floor laughing, "I have chosen to keep my virginity for my wife, which is more then you could ever say for yours," and then he continued walking.

"He is right, InuYasha, you are definitely not the virgin type," Miroku said matter-of-factly.

InuYasha lifted an eyebrow at him, "Look who's talking."

Miroku smiled at that, "while it is true, that I am known as a somewhat promiscuous man, giving your wife your virginity… is sweet… in its own way of course. Good thing I am not planning on getting married though."

"I guess Sango might want to know that," InuYasha replied as he came back to his desk.

Miroku opened his eyes wide and stood up quicker then InuYasha thought was possible, "Except Sango, please, she is the love of my life."

"Well, maybe you should save yourself," Koga replied with a chuckle.

"Ha ha," Miroku replied sarcastically, "but please, the both of you, don't repeat what I said about not getting married..."

InuYasha lifted his shoulders, "maybe I will… maybe I won't."

"InuYasha, if you say anything I will vanquish you to the deepest hell," Miroku growled at him.

InuYasha stood up and laughed, "Oh, so now you have some weird power working for you?"

"In fact I do, my grandfather told me about it," he replied smugly.

"We both know your grandfather became addicted to marijuana back during the war," InuYasha told him as he crossed his hands over his chest.

"Yeah, Miroku. You can't possibly think anything that old man says is true," Koga agreed.

"But this was different; it's called a wind-tunnel."

InuYasha looked at him like he had lost his mind, "a wind-tunnel?"

He gave off a noisy laugh, "Yeah, and me, Koga, and Sesshomaru are all demons… come on man, this isn't the feudal era."

Koga laughed at InuYasha's joke, "that's a good one man."

"Okay, wait," Miroku submitted, "how did we get off track of InuYasha being Ariana's father."

He knew he had been beaten, but that didn't mean he had to let the other man win.

"Out," InuYasha pointed at the door.

Miroku smiled as he and Koga made their way to the door.

"Yeah, there is nothing to worry about InuYasha. The little girl looks nothing like you," Koga gave his support.

"He is totally her father," Koga told Miroku as they entered the hallway.

InuYasha hearing them ran after them, "for your information – which by the way – you shouldn't even need, Kagome told me that she has told Ariana's real father about her."

The two men stopped in their tracks and turned to look at him, "No way," Koga replied.

InuYasha nodded, "it's true. She told me on Saturday."

Miroku shook his head in disagreement, "have you met the man?"

InuYasha looked at him as if he were crazy, "not that I know of. I don't know who it is either." He was really getting annoyed with all of Miroku's doubt on the situation.

"Well, she hasn't even given you his name," Miroku asked in a leading lawyers voice. He was one of the best in the business after all.

"Listen, I know it doesn't make sense, but come on… I just couldn't be the father."

Miroku lifted his shoulders, "I know. Its just that we haven't had a new case in a while since the wedding, and I love putting missing dots together, but you have got to admit… Ariana does resemble you."

InuYasha rolled his eyes, "Sure."

He began walking back to into his office and sat at his desk, and for the second time that day opened his phone to look at the pictures inside, but this time for a completely different reason.

'I couldn't be… could I?'

He closed his phone and put it on his desk, knowing there was no way he could be.

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A/N: aww... I really liked this chapter. I can't help but smile with the interaction that went on between them. Hope you all liked it :)

REVIEWS:

Anime Lady PIMP: :) yes it is only going to get more dramatic from here haha. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

RiceBallMaker94: It is going to be something along the lines of that yes. As for the father, Kagome is really scared but not only because of how he might react, but also because of the repercussions it could have on Ariana if he did decide not to want to be in their life. There is a lot that a mommy has to think about. Thank you for the review, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	12. Chapter 11

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 11 – Free Day

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InuYasha rubbed his head and placed his arms on the table in front of him, "you have got to be kidding me."

"Yeah, there is no way we can do all of that," Kagome agreed.

"It is the responsibility of the maid of honor and the best man," Koga reminded them.

"Oh, and what about all that other stuff you had us do?"

Kikyo looked down at the hands in her lap. "Maybe this is asking for too much," she relented.

"What?" Koga couldn't believe his ears.

Kagome let out a deep breath, "fine, I can do it. It is my responsibility after all."

Kikyo smiled thankfully at Kagome.

All eyes turned expectantly at InuYasha.

He closed his eyes and looked the other way, "don't look at me. I already told you guys where I stand."

"Now InuYasha, that is not acceptable," Miroku interjected.

"Like I care. We have both done so much for this wedding. What have the rest of the bridal party done… if anything at all?"

"We have put the invitations that you two picked out together, bought the decorations you picked out, got fitted for the outfits you both finalized on, and are in progress of putting the favors together, oh and sealed stamped and delivered all of the invitations, and we are responsible for keeping up with the responses," Rin stated matter-of-factly.

InuYasha looked at her jaded, "It was a rhetorical question there, Rin."

"Well, maybe we should just start talking about what we started yesterday," Koga stated smugly.

InuYasha felt his eye twitch.

"Oh, you guys had a conversation… what was it about?" Rin asked interested.

"Oh yes," Miroku replied as he pointed to his chin. "I do remember that we had quite the serious conversation yesterday."

"Save it, Miroku, or else we will really talk about what it was we talked about," InuYasha told the man seriously.

Miroku's eyes widened, "yeah, Koga, I don't think we should bring that up."

"What was it that you three talked about?" Kikyo asked.

InuYasha took a deep breath, "you know, I will help Kagome," he replied as he grabbed her hand. "We are out of here."

"Wait, InuYasha," Kagome tried, but they were gone.

Koga smiled smugly, "oh, nothing really babe. I was just trying to press his buttons. You know how that is," he told her joking.

Kikyo shook her head. "Oh yeah, I can remember," she told him with a smile.

"Wait," Sango interjected, "if you were just trying to agonize InuYasha, then why did Miroku act all … weird."

The room faced Miroku.

"Well, I really need to go and do that thing I needed to…" and he ran out of the room.

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"So, where do we start?"

Kagome had to catch her breath. "I have no idea frankly. That is why I wanted you to hold on a minute," she told him as she narrowed her eyes at him.

InuYasha just shook his head, "whatever, it's just a bachelor and a bachelorette party…how hard could it be to plan?"

Kagome laughed at him. "We have three weeks before the wedding and only two weeks to figure out how hard it can be."

InuYasha huffed and sat on a bench.

He waited until she sat down, "are you really okay with doing all of this? I know how much time you already didn't have and... Well –"

Kagome shrugged her shoulders, "I mean, it does stress me out a little at times, but Kikyo is my sister. I love her, and I want to make her happy. It's the least I can do." She finished quietly.

"You say that all the time. Kagome, you don't need to feel like you owe Kikyo anything. She knows you wouldn't do anything to her, and even if you have in the past… it couldn't have been that bad," he told her obstinately.

Kagome, for the first time, really did not feel like answering him.

A silence went between them for a while as pedestrians walked in front of them and behind, cars drove passed them at fast and slow speeds, horns honked, and people hollered.

The silence lasted only a few moments.

"Hey, let's have a free day," InuYasha told her breaking the silence that he hadn't even noticed.

Kagome lifted an eyebrow at him, "a free day?"

He shrugged a shoulder at her. "Yeah, we have a stress free day. I will take you to lunch and then maybe some relaxing here and there," he told her with a grin.

"That does sound tempting, but we really need to think about what we are going to do for these two parties."

He nodded his head in agreement, "no, of course. We can do as much thinking and talking as we need to, but we definitely need a break."

Kagome smiled at him, "deal."

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" So," InuYasha began as he started chewing a French fry, "how are things going with Ariana's dad?"

"I thought you said stress free?" Kagome asked him mockingly.

InuYasha rolled his eyes, but he did realize that it might be stressful to her, "sorry it's just… I was curious. I guess," he told her somewhat honestly.

Kagome bit her lip, before taking a sip of her cream soda. "Well, things are going as best to be expected I suppose."

InuYasha nodded his head, "how is he taking it?"

Kagome looked at him seriously, "how would you take it if you had just found out you had a daughter?"

InuYasha thought about his answer for a moment, "I guess… I would be okay. I mean, I might be upset for a little, but why would I be mad forever? I sure would not want to be the man who choose anger over a relationship with their kid, you know?"

Kagome looked at her plate as she messed with one of her fries. "I guess that is how he feels then," she laughed.

InuYasha nodded his head, "so would I know this guy?"

Kagome's eyes widened, "I – isn't this a little personal?"

InuYasha lifted his hand, "sorry, if you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to."

"Thank you," Kagome answered honestly.

A few moments passed, and then Kagome started laughing, "You know the sad thing about my relationship with Ariana's father?"

InuYasha shook his head intently.

She looked sadly at him for a moment, and then looked back down at her plate and started playing with her food. "I was a virgin, before I met him," she laughed again. "I was trying to save myself for marriage. I know that seems so foolish nowadays, but it always seemed so important to me. Completely opposite of Kikyo, but it's not like I have to tell you," she replied sarcastically.

But InuYasha knew exactly what she said. Kikyo was definitely not one to wait for marriage.

"Frankly, I haven't slept with anyone since," Kagome continued. Her lip quivering a little, showing InuYasha just how sad she was about the subject. "Her father is the only person I have ever been with," she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

InuYasha placed his hand over hers for a moment, "listen, have you told him all of this?"

Kagome laughed bitterly, "he knows."

InuYasha studied her for a moment, "Kagome, are you… I mean… do you want to marry Ariana's father?"

Kagome looked up at him, tears still in her eyes, face flustered, and her mouth was in shock.

For a moment all she could do was stare at him like this. She couldn't believe how deep a question he really asked her, but then she looked down at her hands. "Would that be pathetic of me if I did?"

Her answer took him off guard.

How would he answer her?

"I don't think that would be pathetic at all," he told her honestly.

She looked up at him; her lips quivering.

He would not deny that it might be strange to some, but he, somehow could understand why she would want to… if for nothing else but Ariana.

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"Come on, InuYasha!"

InuYasha shook his head. "There is a limit to something's," he told her seriously.

She looked at him doubtful, "you said that I could pick, and that is what I want to see." She told him as she crossed her arms over her chest.

InuYasha let out a deep breath and looked once more at the poster, and then he walked over to the ticket booth, "two for Catching Fire, please."

Kagome let out an excited squeal, "thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah, remember you owe me," he told her as he opened the door to the theatre.

"Oh, I will remember," she told him as she winked.

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"Okay, thank you so much!"

"She said it was okay?" InuYasha asked her as she got off the call.

Kagome turned towards him and nodded her head, "yeah, I was going to say goodnight to Ariana, but she already fell asleep." She told him as her lips formed into a pout.

InuYasha smiled at her. "You have done well, you know that?"

Kagome looked at him seriously as they started walking down the strip that led from the movie to the parking garage. "What do you mean?" She asked him as they passed street lights on their right.

He lifted his shoulders and tucked his hands into his dress pants. "I mean with Ariana. I know it had to be hard raising her this long by yourself."

"Oh," Kagome replied as she looked down. She slipped some of her dark brown hair behind her ear, "well, it wasn't that bad. I had help from Kikyo," she told him sadly.

InuYasha shook his head and stopped walking. "Were things that bad between you and Ariana's father?"

He really couldn't wrap his mind around it. This whole situation was driving him crazy.

Kagome looked at him. "We didn't really have a relationship to begin with, so I guess it would be bad," she finished and started walking.

InuYasha wanted nothing more then to grab her arm and turn her around to face him. He knew she was hiding something from him, and it drove him crazy, but he thought better of it.

They finally reached his black Audi. "Listen, maybe we should just head home. I have a long day tomorrow," Kagome said as they got into his tan leather seats.

He looked at her puzzled a moment, "listen, I didn't mean to …" and he paused.

He placed his hand on the gear, "I know this whole thing sucks for you, and I am here to help… but I can't help if you keep leaving me in the dark, Kagome," he told her honestly.

He backed out of his spot then, and just as he turned a corner he could see a tear falling down her cheek, before she quickly wiped it away.

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A/N: I want to wish everyone happy holidays. I can't believe that less then 25 hours ( from where I am ) it is going to be Christmas. I feel like my winter break is passing before my eyes :( but I will try and enjoy the rest of it like a normal person... you know: watching anime, reading fanfiction, and writing... what other things are there to do in life? lol. Seriously though, I will be spending time with my beautiful daughter and amazing husband and our family. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and maybe I will even update my stories on Christmas just for you :)

REVIEWS:

RiceBallMaker94: Yeah, they crack me up. I am glad that you liked the last chapter. It was probably my favorite chapter to write up until that point. I love trying to write situation humor. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Thank you for the review.

Princess Inume: It is going to take a little while longer for the truth to come out. The timing still is not there. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for the review :)

fairy rains: Thank you! It is sometimes hard to write comedy as I might find something hilarious, but then no one else finds it funny, but I am glad to hear that I did my job! Thank you for the review :)

Anime Lady PIMP: as long as he is a super cute little girl then I have no problems with that lol.

mystery: why thank you! I am glad to hear that you are enjoying it. Thank you for the review :)

Let me know what you think :)


	13. Chapter 12

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 12 – Opening Up

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Two days had passed since that last incident.

Two days since he saw her tear.

Two days since she walked out of his car.

Two days since he saw her.

Two days since he spoke to her.

And it was all because he opened his big mouth.

Now, that is not to say that he regretted what he said, but he might have used a _bit_ more caution.

"Mr. Takahashi?"

He turned towards the door and noticed his secretary, Ayumi.

"What is it, Ayumi?"

The blonde haired woman bowed slightly, "you have a call, sir."

He nodded his head, "okay, send it in here."

She nodded her head, "sir," and then she left.

Immediately one of the buttons on his office phone lit up, he pressed it and picked it up, "This is InuYasha."

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She walked into her office and shut the door. It was Thursday, which meant she was supposed to go across town to the bridal party meeting, but she really did not feel like going today.

After trying Kikyo's cell multiple times, she decided to call the one other number she knew without getting her cell.

"Takahashi and Sons, this is Ayumi speaking," Kagome heard on the other line.

She took a deep breath, "yes, I would like to speak to InuYasha, please. It is about the bridal party meeting we have scheduled."

"Oh, yes, could you please wait a moment, so I can see if he is available?"

"That will be fine."

Immediately some instrumental music began playing. It was one of the classics. Kagome didn't know the name, but it was very popular for many companies when they put a person on hold.

"I am going to put you through," Ayumi told her as soon as she picked up the phone.

"Okay, thank you," Kagome replied.

There was a short period in time as the phone began ringing again that she thought that maybe she should just hang up, and go to the meeting across town, but before she could –

"This is InuYasha."

Kagome sat in her desk frozen.

"Hello?"

He said into the phone.

"Umm, yes, I was wondering about some services…?"

Kagome hit her forehead; she really didn't know where she was going with this.

'Why don't I just tell him who I am?'

"Services?" He replied, "what were you thinking of?"

Kagome felt a blush cross her cheeks, "What kind of services do you offer?"

"We provide consultation, advice, and if you are serious about a case… we can dig deep and if we win… you get to keep forty percent of the profit."

"How do you know if something is serious?"

There was a pause on the other line of the phone, "what is it that you are calling about, and I can tell you if we need to set up another meeting?"

"Well, I suppose advice would be best," Kagome agreed into the phone.

"Okay, I will have to tell you that I am not the best at it, but I can give it a try," he told her in a chuckle.

Kagome held the phone tightly in both her hands, "well, you see… I am sort of obligated to something…"

"Obligated..? How?"

"Well, the father of my child… he is wanting to get to know my child…"

"Oh," InuYasha replied, for some reason he immediately thought of Kagome.

"Well, has he been in the picture or did he just recently show interest?"

"He has been in the past, but I didn't really give him a chance…"

"So, why the sudden interest?"

"I think… it's because he knows about her… my child I mean."

Realization hit InuYasha like a lightning bolt, he was _definitely_ talking to Kagome, "oh, was there a reason that he didn't know before? Was he on drugs, because we can definitely build a case on that if you want full custody?"

"No, as far as I know he was not on drugs," Kagome told him with a smile. She was glad that he was being professional, even if she hadn't told him that it was her.

"Okay, so why does he want in her life?"

"Well, when she was first born… I was scared. I really didn't feel like I had anywhere to go or anyone to turn to, so I left."

There was a pause on the line.

"It wasn't until recently that he found out that I – we have a daughter, and well… I do want him to know everything, but…"

"But?"

InuYasha knew he was on the verge of something important.

"But… I don't know… maybe I am just being foolish."

"How so?"

"It's just that where I was in my life back then… I had no idea what love was… and well he… he was just so far from knowing who I was that telling him now would just cause problems."

"But how do you know that if you don't at least try?"

"I don't know… maybe it's fear of rejection or fear or the unknown, but whatever it is… I just can't manage to get over it." 

"Well, if you want my advice, which like I said… is horrible most of the time. I really think you should come clean with him. You might be afraid of what will happen in the future, but think… you might be missing out on something too, you know?"

"Yeah, you are right, I guess. I am just being foolish… maybe my friend was right."

"You aren't being foolish, Kagome."

Kagome laughed into the phone, "Did you know it was me the whole time?"

He smirked, "I wouldn't say the entire time, but yea, I kind of recognized your voice, and then when you started talking about your case… yea, it was clear then."

"Well, for the record, you give pretty good advice," she told him smiling.

"Yeah, well don't spread that around. The last thing I need is for everyone coming to me with their problems."

"True," Kagome told him in a small laugh, "Well, actually, I did have a true reason for calling…"

"Oh," InuYasha put a hand to his heart. "You mean to get my awesome advice wasn't the reason?" He asked her hurt.

Kagome giggled at him, "sadly, no. I was trying to get a hold of Kikyo, but she wasn't answering, and I will not be able to make it to the meeting today. We are swamped here."

He shook his head. "So, you are going to force me to sit there without you?

Where is your humanity, Kagome?"

Kagome laughed. "I will make it up to you later," she promised him.

"You better," he told her with a smirk.

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A/N: Small chapter, but I did tell you all that I would update for Christmas, and I think this leaves things on a better note :) Merry Christmas everyone!

REVIEWS:

Princess Inume : I hope you enjoyed this chapter since I left them smiling :)

StevieWonderboyx : Oh gosh, I will let you know that he did not rape her. I make things sad at times, but I think that would just be too hard for her to handle. I don't know if I would ever want to be **with** someone that raped me that I didn't know, and then had his baby... that would be one messed up story haha. I am glad to hear that you like it though. Merry Christmas!

RiceBallMaker94 : I hope you have a good holiday as well. Thank you for reading and writing reviews :) Merry Christmas!

Fairy Rains : Thank you! Merry Christmas!

Anime Lady PIMP : Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Merry Christmas!


	14. Chapter 13

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 13 – Being the Boyfriend

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

For the first time, in a very long time, Kagome was looking forward to keeping up with her end of the bargain.

"Do we have to go to a club though?"

Yes, that was the _only_ problem she had.

"And? It's not like you get a say in the matter," he told her as he winked.

Kagome looked out the window and crossed her arms making sure that he heard her grumble of complaints as she turned the other way.

InuYasha just started laughing at her expense, "you know, we should totally be in more situations like this, because it sure is funny when you don't get your way."

Kagome looked at him with her mouth hanging slightly agape, but she couldn't deny the small pleasure at seeing him in such a good mood.

"So, where are we going exactly?" She asked him deciding that since he was having so much fun making fun of her, she was not accomplishing her goal.

He looked at her, "do I hear a form of complaining in your voice?"

Kagome locked eyes with him, "and what if you do?"

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Well, then we will have to play my games, and you are horrible when it comes to that," he reminded her with a wag of his eyebrows.

Kagome's eyes widened; she definitely did not want to be in another position like she was last time, being that drunk was not good for her.

"Yeah, maybe it was just something you heard," she told him with a wink.

He chuckled, "Oh, well maybe it was."

"Besides, I was thinking this spot would be good for the bachelor and bachelorette party, plus it is pretty close to where Kikyo and Koga are getting married" he told her smiling.

She looked at him shocked, "wow, look at Mr. Work-a-holic over here."

InuYasha turned smug, "well, somebody has to pull some weight around here."

Kagome laughed.

"So," she started as they went further and further down the highway. "How have things been going with you and… what was the name of the girl that worked at the cake shop…?"

InuYasha lifted his eyebrow, "Makoto?"

Kagome snapped her finger and nodded her head, "yeah, her."

InuYasha looked back at the road, "oh, well… things just didn't work out. She wasn't my type."

Kagome cocked her head at him. "Not your type? Well, that is news to me. You were all over her when we were at the shop that day."

InuYasha shook his head, "No, that was definitely your imagination."

"Oh," Kagome replied as she looked out her window.

"What about you and that one guy… what was his name?"

Kagome turned to face him, "Hojo?"

"Yeah," InuYasha nodded.

"Well… we just were… never really like that," she told him with a small blush.

"Oh, I thought you two had something there?"

Kagome looked at the road. For some reason she couldn't look at him… with the way he was acting right now… all –

"No."

For some reason, that answer made him feel real good.

"Well, that's good to hear," he replied quietly.

Kagome turned wide-eyed at him, "What?"

He panicked for a moment, "I said we are almost there."

"Oh."

He found the exit, and they got off, glad that the ride in the car was almost through, because now it was just awkward in there.

"How about some music?" InuYasha replied, not being able to stand the stiffness in the car anymore.

"_A little bit,_

_A little bit,_

_A little bit in love with you_," A little Bit: Lykke Li ft. Drake

Kagome and InuYasha looked at each other with a blush aligning their cheeks.

"Maybe another station," Kagome suggested as she began flipping through the channels.

"Yeah, try 99.5."

"What station is that? I don't think I have heard of it," Kagome asked as she focused her attention on the radio, trying desperately not to look at InuYasha.

"_Hold my hand,_

_Let's chase the sun,_

_We both know something's begun_

_Nothing feels that real without you_

_Wanna learn so much about you_

_Shining star I've seen your face_

_Everything falls into place_

_Nothing else seems to matter _

_You bring me to life_

_I was so lonely_

_What you've shown me_

_Is that I need you here_

_Feels like the raindrops on my skin_

_You've reached me somewhere deep within_

_You make my body come alive_

_You bring me alive_" Raindrops: DJ Diamond

They locked eyes this time, and she was sure that he had that gut turning feeling in his stomach just as she did.

Kagome felt her face heating up and turned away, "can we not get a song like this?"

InuYasha laughed awkwardly, "Well, it is techno."

"Techno, wow! I had no idea you were all into that jumpy music," she told him as she smiled.

"Hey, it's cool," he told her faking hurt.

"Sure it is," she replied laughing.

But InuYasha laughed back, glad that the mood was more comfortable once again, just as they pulled into the parking lot for the club.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kagome looked around and had to admit, InuYasha might have just found the perfect place for the bachelor and bachelorette parties.

There was a DJ in the middle and the lights bounced up and down with the music.

As soon as a person walked in, they felt the electricity of the place. It didn't feel claustrophobic even though people were extremely close together.

She smiled at him and noticed that he was smiling at her, "it's a winner… isn't it?"

She couldn't help but nod her head, "actually yes. It is possibly the best place to have the parties."

Plus, since the two parties were on two different nights, they wouldn't run into each other.

"There are actually private rooms in the back. We can rent them out, so we can all be in one place… we just wont tell the bride and groom," he told her as he winked.

Kagome shook her head, "I don't know if that would be the best idea though. We are likely to run into each other."

InuYasha laughed, "Oh, so you were trying to plan something naughty."

Kagome felt a blush cross her face, "well… not – no."

InuYasha let out a large breath. "Yeah, for some reason I am finding it terribly hard to believe you."

"Well, you don't have to believe me, but it isn't naughty."

"Good," InuYasha told her as he grinned, "then we can book them both here – on the same night."

Kagome hesitated. "Fine," she told him as she shook his hand, making a deal.

"Man," InuYasha grumbled as he remembered something.

"What?" Kagome asked him.

"Miroku is hell bent on getting strippers," he told her with an innocent uplift of his shoulders.

Kagome laughed at him, "well, that might be awkward if we are right next to you guys."

InuYasha snapped his fingers, "how about you girls strip."

Kagome looked at him like he had lost his mind as a blush began to cross her face.

He gave her a toothy grin, "got ya!"

Kagome faked a laugh, "you bet you did."

"Well, let's find the manager," he told her as they began to head more into the club.

The more they walked, the more Kagome doubted that even if they did have the parties on the same night… the likelihood of them actually running into each other would be nearly impossible. The place was huge.

There was a balcony at the back, and they began up the steps, "this is the V.I.P. section, but I know that this is where the owner hangs out."

Kagome looked at him wide-eyed; he sure did know a lot about all these clubs.

Finally, they reached the entrance of a deep mahogany door. The atmosphere immediately changed when they entered the V.I.P section. It was still electric from the booming music, but now as she passed booth after booth she could tell that everyone was wealthy.

The men started biting their lower lip and looking at her, and Kagome immediately felt an overwhelming awkward feeling, and to think, she wasn't even dressed that cute.

One of the waitress's walked up to InuYasha. "Yasha, haven't seen you in a while," she told him as she planted the biggest kiss on his lips.

Kagome decided that now was the proper time to look away.

"Natalia, I've missed seeing you too," he told her as he decided to tap her butt.

Kagome didn't think she could turn a brighter shade of red.

'Nothing could make this more awkward,' Kagome thought to herself.

"Hey baby," a man said close to her ear.

Kagome quickly turned around.

In front of her was a very attractive guy, probably around his mid-twenties. He looked like a rich spoiled kid to her though.

She did not like the way his eyes were roaming over her body.

"So, you come here often?"

His dark brown eyes focused back on her.

"Step off," InuYasha replied as he placed his arm around her shoulders.

Kagome was so relieved that he was there.

"Who the hell are you?" The brown haired man asked InuYasha as he stepped up to him.

"Stand behind me, Kagome," InuYasha instructed her, and immediately she did as he asked.

"I'm her boyfriend." He told him.

Kagome felt her face heat up.

"Who are you?" InuYasha asked him as he put a finger in his chest. "Are you trying to mess with my girl?"

As he finished this, he softly moved Kagome closer to the side-center of his body, showing the other man that he meant what he was saying.

The man looked at Kagome for a moment, before looking back at InuYasha. "Then why were you all over that waitress?"

InuYasha laughed at him. "I was not all over her. If I can recall, which might I add, my memory is remarkable, she came onto me."

"You were all over her butt," the man persisted.

InuYasha smiled smugly at the man in front of him, and then pressed Kagome closer to him and ravished her lips in a kiss.

Kagome felt so stiff and intoxicated, shocked and heated, and for what felt like an eternity she stayed like that. Her heart beating uncontrollably in her chest, while at the same time, her stomach was doing butterflies.

Slowly, she returned the feeling – her breathing staggered and rugged. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her waist and turned his head.

She crushed her body into his. This tension was welcomed. It set a spark a lit within her that she hadn't known had been missing.

InuYasha was inebriated by all that was the woman in his arms. He hadn't had this feeling but one other time before. It was overwhelming and heart pounding. Something that he missed terribly.

Finally, they broke apart.

Their breathing ragged still from all the tension and passion that went into that one act.

Kagome opened her blue eyes and felt a blush paint its' way across her cheeks as she met his hazel orbs.

"I think we got rid of him," he said slowly.

Kagome dumbly nodded her head. The other man being the furthest thing from her mind.

InuYasha took a deep breath and reached for her hand, "here, let's just walk like this until we get out of this section."

Kagome felt the blood leave her face. "Oh," she replied as they began walking. Realizing that she had gotten herself all worked up for a guy who hadn't felt anything.

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A/N: poor Kagome. :(

This story still has so much more potential, and of course feelings to be messed with. I hope you all are enjoying this story, because I sure as hell am haha.

REVIEWS:

Princess Inume and fanficnewbiee : thank you!

RiceBallMaker94 : Yeah, that talk really brought them closer in their friendship, and it is setting the stage for what needs to happen later.

Fairy Rains : I promise you live in my mind somewhere lol. Thanks for the review!


	15. The Perfect Kiss

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 14 – The Perfect Kiss

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After a while, Kagome really felt like she wanted to go home.

"What is wrong with you?" InuYasha asked her for about the tenth time.

She looked angrily at him, "you are a jerk you know that."

"What are you talking about?" He shot back.

She felt her face heat up. She knew if she said something she would seem so… vulnerable, but if she didn't say anything…

"You are just so dumb," she told him as she began to walk away.

InuYasha grabbed her arm, "you are not going anywhere."

They stared down at each other.

Kagome felt like if she stood there any longer she would break from the humiliation. She had to get out of there.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she told him as she saw the sign for the women's room about twenty feet from them.

InuYasha looked behind him and slowly let his firm hold on her arm go, "fine, but I will be right here."

"Fine," Kagome told him as she stomped away.

As soon as she made her way to the bathroom, she shut the door and slid down the wall. The tears kind of just started on their own, but she didn't have the will to hold them back.

She just felt so foolish.

After about two minutes she heard a knock on the door, "Come on, Kagome," she heard InuYasha's muffled voice, and she rolled her eyes.

He was the last person she wanted to see, and she still had to ride home with him.

"In a minute," she yelled back, trying to check her reflection in the mirror, hoping that she didn't look horrible, before she went back out in the abyss of people.

After rubbing under her eyes a few more times and blowing her nose, she exited the room.

She bumped into someone and rolled her eyes knowing that it was InuYasha, but when she looked up, "Bankotsu?"

He was the last person she thought she would see.

He smiled at her, "Kagome? I didn't know that you came out to clubs…"

Kagome scratched the back of her head, knowing that she didn't, "Actually, I was just here seeing about setting up a bachelorette party for my sister. It is going to be in a week and a half."

Bankotsu nodded, "Oh, so are you here by yourself?"

Kagome saw him looking around behind her, just as she caught a glimpse of InuYasha heading towards them.

And for some reason, no matter how foolish she knew it was…

"No," she answered him and slowly leaned up and captured his lips in a kiss.

Kagome knew she took him off guard, but he quickly wrapped his arms around her waist.

She allowed him to do what he wanted, even if it felt nothing like kissing InuYasha.

They pulled apart, and immediately Kagome's eyes shot to where she had last seen InuYasha.

Bankotsu turned around, and he too saw him standing there. "Crap," he replied when he saw him.

Kagome was frozen.

She was not expecting to see him looking so… so… hurt.

But before she could go towards him, he turned and made his way to the door.

Bankotsu turned to face Kagome, "so… did I just get used?"

Kagome smiled sheepishly at Bankotsu, "I am sorry. He just… ugh!"

Bankotsu laughed, "Hey, don't worry about it."

He pointed to a table in front of them, and they both sat down.

"So, what is going on?" Bankotsu asked as he lifted a glass to his mouth.

Kagome let out a deep breath, "I don't even know where to start. It is all so complicated."

Bankotsu smiled at her, "it couldn't be that bad?"

Kagome shook her head, "you have no idea."

"Try me," he challenged.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Okay, I was wrong." He told her as he sat with his empty beer bottle.

Kagome nodded sadly. "I know."

"And he has no idea?" He asked her again to make sure.

She felt like crying, "No." She looked up at him, "I know it is horrible, but I just don't know what to do. I feel like it would ruin everything."

Bankotsu sat there a moment, looking at his hand as it turned the bottle slightly to the right and then slightly to the left, "you have to tell him." He made it sound like the simplest thing in the world.

Kagome rubbed her head, "I know."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next morning was completely awkward.

Ariana looked from Kagome to InuYasha, and then back again, finally, the young girl had enough, "mommy, are you and daddy mad at each other?"

Kagome looked worriedly at her daughter, "No, baby, mommy and daddy aren't mad at each other," she told her with as much of a smile as she could manage.

She saw InuYasha nod his head in the negative as he let out a puff of aggravated air.

The small smile that she managed quickly left her face as her hands went to her lap. "Ariana, why don't you tell daddy about what you did at school this week?" Kagome suggested.

InuYasha turned to Ariana. "Yeah, tell daddy about your week," he told her with a grin.

Kagome scooted further down in her chair, and this was why it was so awkward. He would be normal with Ariana, which was amazing, but anytime she would open her mouth… yeah… the cold shoulder was overwhelming.

Ariana looked at him with her wide brown eyes. "Well, Ms. Suki let us play outside yesterday," she told him excitedly.

InuYasha widened his eyes as well, "oh she did? It was a very nice day wasn't it?"

She nodded her head, "Oh yeah. It was nice."

He let out a small laugh, "well that is good. Did you have a good night with your grandma?"

"Oh Yeah, grandma and me made cookies," she told him with an extra sense of rationale.

"Cookies," he replied, "what kind?"

"Sugar, my favorite," she told him as she pointed at herself.

"Wow, that's my favorite too," InuYasha replied honestly.

Ariana turned to Kagome, "did you hear that mommy?"

Kagome smiled at the girl. "I sure did," she told her smiling.

"Mommy doesn't like sugar cookies," she told InuYasha.

InuYasha looked at Kagome, "how can you not like sugar cookies?" He asked her openly.

Kagome felt a blush forming on her cheeks. "I just have not ever really liked them," she told him frankly.

"Well, I guess mommy is just weird," he told Ariana with a smile.

Ariana smiled really big back at him, "yeah."

Kagome smiled too, because for the first time that day… she felt like the day might be normal.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Where are we going daddy?" Ariana asked for about the twentieth time.

InuYasha shook his head. "I can't tell you. It's a secret, but the good thing is we are almost there," he told her with a wink.

Her eyes got as big as saucers, "Really?"

He nodded his head, "really."

At that exact time, Kagome looked out the window to the exit sign that he was getting off at, "Really?"

Now Kagome was excited.

InuYasha looked at her shocked, and shook his head, telling her to keep it a secret.

Ariana looked at Kagome, "What is it mommy?"

Kagome looked down at her daughter. "Oh, nothing, mommy just forgot something at the house," she told her quickly making something up.

Kagome couldn't help the goofy smile as it started to make its way across her face.

To say that she was excited was an understatement. She always wanted to go to Disney Land, but never had the chance… not even back in the states.

"InuYasha, this will be amazing," she told him honestly.

He looked over at her, and he could see that she truly meant it. "Have you really never been?"

It was hard for him to believe that someone in their twenties spent all their life without coming.

Kagome shook her head, "No, I was either too busy or…" Kagome looked down real quick and rubbed Ariana's head, "other things came up."

InuYasha's eyes widened, "Oh."

There was nothing else he could really say.

"And… I just wanted to say that I am appalled about how yesterday ended."

Ariana looked up at Kagome, "mommy, what is appalled?"

Kagome laughed at her daughter, but it was InuYasha that answered, "It just means that daddy is happy again," he told the young girl.

Kagome smiled at him, knowing that he had forgiven her.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ariana was screaming with excitement.

InuYasha could only smile, "does that mean you are excited?"

She turned to him with the biggest smile and ran into his waist, "thank you daddy. This is the best surprise ever."

He picked her up and brought her in his arms, "Well, I am glad that I did this for you."

She pulled slightly away and nodded her head, before he let her back down.

She ran ahead of them, "mommy, daddy, come on!"

Kagome smiled, "Okay, baby, we are coming."

As soon as they got through the gates, Ariana was pulling them this way and that.

She got a chance to take a picture with all her favorite characters and her favorite princess's.

They made sure to ride every ride she wanted, and before they knew it, it was time to go.

Ariana was holding onto one of Kagome's hands and one of InuYasha's. The trio each had a Mickey Mouse hat as they made their way to the gate.

"Excuse me," one of the workers called out to them.

"Would you like a picture, before you leave?"

Ariana smiled happily, "yes, let's get a picture, daddy!"

InuYasha smiled at her, "Okay, we can get one more picture."

"Great," the photo person responded.

InuYasha looked at Kagome. He suddenly felt really awkward; how would they stand?

"Okay, whenever you guys are ready," the photo person told them, finished with setting up the camera.

"Oh, mommy and daddy should kiss!"

Kagome and InuYasha immediately had a blush painted on their cheeks.

"I don't know if that's the best idea," InuYasha began.

Ariana looked up at him hurt, "but that is what mommies and daddies are supposed to do."

InuYasha looked at Kagome, whose face was still painted a light pink.

"Why don't we just do it for her," he heard Kagome say.

InuYasha's eyes widened.

Ariana smiled, "that is the picture I want!"

The camera guy smiled at her, "You love your mommy and daddy don't you?"

She smiled real big, "I do."

"Okay, so are we kissing?" the camera guy asked them.

InuYasha looked unsure from Kagome and then to the camera guy and then back to Kagome again, "yea."

Immediately he felt overwhelmed by this unforeseen pressure, but at the same time, when he looked back at her, it was something that he wanted to do.

'Besides,' he told himself, 'it's not like we haven't done it before.'

"Alright, I will count to three," the man started.

"You got to do it like you mean it!" Ariana hollered.

"One, two –"

And Kagome pressed her lips against his.

It was unexpected.

He sat there frozen for a moment.

His eyes wide-open, but slowly, he leaned into her kiss and tightened his grip on her arms as he took them both on a heart racing roller-coaster.

To him, it was over all too soon, but one thing was for sure… he was breathless.

Ariana ran up to them, "come on, let's go get the picture!" She told them as she took her position once again in between Kagome and InuYasha.

InuYasha dumbly nodded his head and followed.

He paid for the picture and as soon as Ariana looked over it, she handed it to him.

His eyes widened, "wow," he couldn't help but stating.

Apparently Kagome heard him, because he saw the light pink return to her cheeks, but as he looked over the picture, one thing was for sure. They looked great together.

Kagome, for some reason, had placed both of her hands lightly on his chest.

He could see the intensity in it, the spark… that same spark he had felt.

He let out a small chuckle though; the Mickey Mouse ears definitely did not fit the mood.

"What do you think, daddy?" Ariana asked him once he was done.

"I think," he began as he looked at Kagome, "that it's perfect."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: Well, I am going to reveal to you all this was a big step in their relationship, and plus it is getting really close to the wedding, so if I wanted anything to happen, I need to get my butt in gear lol.

I hope you all liked this chapter. There is still so much emotion to be discovered and not to mention the big reveal. I hope to set it up in a way that is believable.

Any ways thank you for reading :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

REVIEWS:

RiceBallMaker94 : I know! As far as I am concerned, she is just a waitress. He goes to the club often and in my opinion, as a single male, you might hookup with some of the workers a few times. She was one of those random hookups.

Princess Inume : InuYasha and not flirting? Lol. I don't know if that is possible haha. I hope whether or not feelings are there is a little alleviated from this chapter ;)

Fairy Rains: Haha. I love that you used the word _steamy_. Lol. I agree with you. To me he will feel betrayed either way, but like you said: the bigger betrayal would come from Kikyou, since he trusted her first and they dated, whereas with Kagome he is just starting to know, but I promise I think exactly like you do. I have to think about every outlet, but I also want to have a semblance of the unexpected. Of course, I can't do that with everything, but with somethings I can :) Feel free to continue to live on the outside of my mind, not on the inside of course... like you said: it can get scary in there haha.

Fanficnewbiee : Thank you! And thank you for the review! I am happy to make a story that you all enjoy. To me that is awesome :)

Grumpy DelSan13 : Eventually, the truth about Ariana's father will come out. It will be around the wedding. I can tell you that much. Thank you, and happy holidays to you as well. I hope you have a wonderful New Year :)

Guest : I understand what you mean about her pushing him off, but at the same time, she is really starting to have feelings for him, and if you think he is the father... her feelings are pretty deep (from what I revealed in earlier chapters). The situation around Kagome's pregnancy is still a little up in the air, but I do have a layout of how I want it to go in my head. I don't think it is going to be easy on any of the characters, which to me, is situations you have to go through to grow up and realize that some things are out of your control. I think that if Kagome covered for Kikyou she would have NEVER allowed InuYasha to sleep with her, especially since she was a virgin. No matter how much you love your sister, you would not allow a man you do not know to have sex with you... which would be the equivalent to rape in my mind, but keep thinking like you are. I love to hear feedback. It lets me know that I am making a story that has you all guessing :) and thank you for the review! I hope you continue to enjoy the story.


	16. Finding What's Important

Chapter 15 – Finding what's Important

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"So, we are all done?"

"Looks like it," Kagome agreed.

Kikyo smiled, "well, it looks like this is going to be the last meeting before the bachelor and bachelorette parties."

InuYasha leaned back in his chair, "I am so glad."

He opened his eyes and noticed everyone staring at him, "what?"

"Are you trying to say you didn't enjoy every minute of putting together Kikyo and Koga's wedding," Miroku asked.

"Keh," rolled his eyes, "as if I liked doing all that stuff."

Kikyo smiled, "sure you didn't."

"Oi," he hollered at her, but he knew they were just messing with him.

"Well, I guess the next time we see everyone will be in a week. Remember we are meeting there two days before the actual wedding," Kikyo reminded them.

They all rolled their eyes, having heard the plan a thousand times, "yes," they answered in unison.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I can't believe we are so close to this wedding happening."

"I know, it's crazy," he replied, and for the first time… he actually thought about it. His ex-girlfriend was really getting married to one of his closest friends.

She looked at him, "are you okay?"

She could tell that something was wrong. They did spend a lot of time together after all.

He just continued to stare at the elevator door, "I guess it really hasn't set in, you know?" He asked as he turned to her a moment.

And for the first time, she noticed it, "do you still love her?"

She couldn't even believe it as it came out, but the way he was acting just now… it felt like –

He let out a small laugh, "It would sound like that wouldn't it."

Her eyes widened in realization.

He turned towards her, "but that is really not it at all… not really anyways."

"I don't understand."

He shook his head, "It's just one of those moments where you realize that it really is over. There will be no more random hookups. No random phone calls about missing each other. None of that – she has moved on."

"And you haven't?" She asked him seriously.

He looked at her and a blush came to his face, "we have both moved on."

With the way he just looked at her, it was so, "both?"

He smiled, "yes, both of us."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I am really doing this!"

Kagome smiled, "yes, you are."

"I am really doing this!"

Kagome could only laugh. They had been through this about ten times now. Kikyo was getting a little bit excited.

Kagome grabbed her hand, "I know. You will be so happy. He is great for you."

Kikyo had tears gather in her eyes, "he is great, isn't he?"

Kagome nodded her head, "yes, he is."

Kikyo closed her eyes, "do you think… that I did the right thing? That I am doing the right thing?"

Kagome looked at her confused, "doing the right thing? Kikyo, what are you talking about?"

Kikyo let out a small laugh and shook her head, "Oh, forget it. I am just being dumb."

Kagome nodded her head, but the statement didn't make this feeling she had go away.

"So?" Rin started, "where are we going for this party?"

She started wagging her eyebrows.

"You are too much," Sango cut in laughing.

"You got to live once and a while," Rin replied back sticking out her tongue.

"We are going to this club that InuYasha recommended," Kagome told them finally, letting the anticipation build up for a bit.

"Oh Lord, InuYasha recommended it… This is not going to be good," Sango grumbled as she hit her forehead.

Kagome laughed, "No, I promise. It is a pretty cool place."

"You better be right," Rin cut in.

"Oh, I am," and just as Kagome finished they pulled up to the club.

"Wow," Rin said in amazement.

The club was awesome. Not some hole in the wall like some of the other places that they had been to.

The parking lot was full of people trying to get in to what, in Rin's mind, had to be one of the most exclusive clubs she had been to, and not to mention, they have a V.I.P. section. Yes, they had made it in the world.

She walked excitedly from the car and rushed to the door, "come on, we are going to miss the party!"

The other girls couldn't help the giddy smiles as they looked over the place.

Kagome though was looking to make sure they wouldn't run into a particular group of boys that were meeting at the exact same spot.

'I knew this was a bad idea,' Kagome grumbled when they were still walking to the door.

She just hoped that InuYasha kept to his word and would take the guys out thirty minutes after they got here.

And just to make sure…

Sent: We are here

8:37 p.m. 12/22/13

Received: Ok, we are getting ready to leave

8:40 p.m. 12/22/13

InuYasha looked up from his phone, "Come on. Aren't you guys ready yet?"

"Where are we going again? 'Cause there better be strippers," Miroku piped up as he entered the hallway of the office.

InuYasha just rolled his eyes, "You will find out. Okay, so are we all just riding together or…?"

"I am not riding with you idiots," Sesshomaru complained.

"Oi!"

"Hey!"

"Yeah, you are in my wedding man," Koga shot back.

Sesshomaru let out a deep breath, "of course. I will ride with Koga."

"Alright that's fine," Koga replied. A little bit more at ease.

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes, noticing that none of the other men took notice of the fact that he did not apologize for what he said.

"Fools," he grumbled.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kagome put down the shot glass just as the other girls finished.

"Okay, we need to start something new because… Kagome and drinking does not mix," she replied to the women.

Sango started laughing, "Well, what is next on the agenda.

Just then her phone vibrated.

Received: We are here

9:03 p.m. 12/22/13

Kagome's eyes widened, "Now, we go to the reserved room."

"Oo," Rin replied excitedly.

When they got into the room, Kagome was excited that the woman was there.

The girls looked at her skeptically, knowing Kagome would not hire a _female_ stripper for them. She must have the wrong room.

But once they got in, Kagome nodded her head to the woman and music started playing.

The woman smiled, "Hello, ladies."

Kagome noticed Sango, Rin and Kikyo blush before looking at her.

Kagome stood up, "alright, I know what this looks like, but this is a sex toy party."

The three girls in front of her eyes widened, "sex toy party?"

Kagome smiled, "you got that right."

She turned to the woman in the front of the room, "you have the floor," and then she returned to her seat.

Sent: We are in our room

9:15 p.m. 12/22/13

"Is that Sango?"

InuYasha turned worriedly over to where Miroku was looking, but then opened his phone, "No. The girls are at their own party… remember."

Miroku put his head down, "sadly, yes."

InuYasha let out a small chuckle at the other mans expense, "are you ever going to tell her how you feel?"

Miroku looked at him with wide eyes, "tell her, my friend that is not the best idea."

InuYasha lifted an eyebrow at him, "How can that _not_ be a good idea?"

"He is just scared," Koga answered.

"I am not," Miroku resisted.

"Children," Sesshomaru muttered.

"You know, not everyone can be like you," Miroku shot at the man.

Sesshomaru looked at him intently. "Miroku, you need to take control of the situation before the situation takes control of you."

He then turned to InuYasha, "and you as well."

Miroku stared at Sesshomaru with his mouth open, while InuYasha began a tantrum, "What are you talking about? I don't have any situation."

All the other men felt like it was their turn to stare at him.

"Really?" Miroku asked him dumbly.

"Really. I don't have a situation," InuYasha defended.

"You are in denial man," Koga told him.

"And utterly retarded," Sesshomaru told him.

"I am going to beat you, Sesshomaru," InuYasha replied lifting up his sleeve.

"Okay, okay, if InuYasha really thinks that there is no situation… then there is no situation," Miroku cut in.

InuYasha backed off from Sesshomaru a bit, not really wanting to back down from beating him, but he knew he should act civilized.

"Well, why don't we buy some drinks for the groom to be," Miroku suggested as he started towards the bar.

The other men nodded their head, knowing this was going to be a long night.

Sent: Ok, we are in the bar area

9:25 p.m. 12/22/13

"Now this," the woman said as she held up a moving green one that had little spikes on it, "is called the Johnny."

Kagome felt her face heating up. She heard that these parties were fun, but she never expected to feel so…awkward.

"And this one," she pulled out a big black one, "is the Asteroid. It's the biggest one out there," she then began to pass that one around.

When it finally got around to Kagome, wiggling and turning, she felt her cheeks heat up again.

"Kagome, don't look so virginal," Kikyo told her with a small giggle.

Kagome looked at her wide-eyed and whispered, "Kikyo!"

Kikyo just smiled at her.

"All right, that was the last of them. Now, I am going to go in this small room, so if you girls want to purchase anything or get anything for Kikyo… I will be in there," and then she went through the door.

Immediately Rin got up and ran after her, "I will definitely have to get myself something with Sesshomaru acting all uptight," she kidded.

The three women just laughed at her as she closed the door behind her.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Now this… is a party," Miroku said as he looked at the woman in front of him.

They had gone to the literal V.I.P section where the dancers worked.

A brown haired woman bent down in front of him with a smile, "why are you acting so dislodged from society?"

He focused his brown eyes on her, "Oh," he replied as he felt his face heating up, embarrassed to be caught in _this _situation. "I have just got things on my mind," he told her as he turned his face away. For some reason, he couldn't make himself look at the woman.

She gently grabbed his face in her hand, "you having female problems?"

The way she asked it… like it was the simplest and easiest problem in the world, made him feel even worse.

"_That_ is definitely not the case," he defended.

She backed away and lifted her shoulders, "oh, well, then I guess you would see nothing wrong with a little dance," she replied as she began to shake her hips back and forth in front of him.

Immediately he lifted his eyebrows and looked at her, "okay, okay, you are right," he relented. "I suppose that I could be having…_girl_ problems," he finished quietly.

She just let out a giggle at his expanse, "well, that wasn't so hard to admit. Was it?"

He lifted his shoulders.

She sat down in a chair and crossed her legs, "listen, I know whatever is going on might seem huge or difficult or even not worth it… but believe me," she started as she grabbed his hand, "you need to tell her what is making you act this way," she replied as she stood up, "because if it makes InuYasha Takahashi turn away a woman… it is _definitely_ important," and with that she walked away.

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A/N:

REVIEWS:

Princess Inume: Glad you liked the kissing scene. Bankotsu does know. Kagome sat down and told him all the information when InuYasha walked away. It's somewhat ironic how she can tell her old friend (Bankotsu) so easily but she has such difficulty with the father. But you never know how the father is going to react, so I suppose it is a lot easier to get an outsiders opinion on the matter then actually telling the truth to the one the truth is about and having it blow up in your face. I hope you liked this chapter :) More to come soon!

RiceBallMaker94: glad you enjoyed the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one as well :)

Grumpy DelSan13: I did have a great New Year. Thank you! My daughter and I watched some dragon ball z abridge, which if you like to laugh and you have not watched it I would totally recommend it. It is HILARIOUS! (oh, and by my daughter and I... I mean me. She is 2, so she was basically asleep next to me haha.)  
I hope I updated fast enough for you :)

Fairy Rains: glad to hear that you liked it :) I suppose from this chapter you can see that my butt is definitely getting in gear lol. So the climax is about to come up real soon (wink wink).

g0ld3n: oh my goodness. Thank you so much for the review. I am so - wow. I have no other words. Your review _literally_ made my day. I showed my mom, sister, and husband... and how could I not? Thank you! Although I do not believe or say that I am as great or magnificent as some other writers out there... you have me believing that it is possible, so thank you again!

Peace: thank you! I find it rather cute too, so I am glad to know that you agree with me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

fanficnewbiee: haha. Yes, she is single too. Isn't it great how they are both single at the same time? Lol. Hope you liked this chapter. Thank you for the review :)

Anime Lady PIMP: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well :)


	17. Revelation

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 16 - Revelation

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"We so – need to do this more often," Rin told the girls as she took another drink and continued dancing.

Sango smiled at her, "is it just me… or can none of you hold down your liquor?"

Kagome tightly closed her eyes and then opened them real wide, before she steadied herself on a table, "No, it is just you," she told her with a smile before letting out a large burp.

Sango laughed. "So, how are things between you and InuYasha?"

"Why? Do you see him?" Kagome asked as she turned this way and that.

Sango shook her head, "no. I was just asking, but…" then she paused a moment as she realized, "the guys are _here_!"

Kagome's eyes widened as she held her hand to her lips, "shush, you can't say anything. Kikyo would kill me," she told her in a giggle.

Sango slouched in her chair, "I think I am going to kill you. Do you not understand how much I have been trying to stay _away_ from Miroku?

Kagome looked at her with sad eyes, "but why would you want to do that? He likes you so much," and then she took another sip of her drink.

Sango felt a blush painting on her cheeks, "that pervert does not like me. I am just a means to getting what he wants… nothing more."

Kagome shook her head and waved her hand at the other woman, "Are you serious? He_ so_ likes you Sango."

Sango just laughed, "and you are so drunk."

Kagome turned her head and lifted her shoulders, "you know, you are probably right."

"Does that mean that you should head back to the hotel, before you make any stupid decisions," Sango asked her jokingly.

Kagome pointed at her, "you have just read my mind."

Sango shook her head, "okay, I am going to tell Kikyo real quick to keep an eye on Rin, and then we can head out of here."

Kagome nodded her head slowly, "sounds great!"

Kagome watched the other woman walk away and then suddenly had this tremendous impulse to go and dance. She looked over her shoulder as Sango caught up to Kikyo, but she decided that she just wanted to go ahead of her.

'She will catch up to me,' she thought as she made her way away from her sister and friends.

Finally, she made it to the dance floor. The beat was loud, and she liked it. She slowly began dancing to the pounding… first with her upper body and then her arms went in the air, and then her entire body was flowing to the beat.

She took in a deep breath as she let go of all the stress that had been accumulating on her – stress of the wedding, the stress of secrets, and the stress of InuYasha. It was all becoming too much, so she was grateful for this.

After about five minutes of dancing, she decided that the woozy feeling that was overcoming her body probably wasn't a good thing, so she decided to sit down, and just at that moment –

"Well, well, well, look who fell into my lap."

Kagome turned quickly around – too quick, to see InuYasha. She hastily tried to get up and in so doing, managed her decent to the floor.

But, before her imminent destination came upon her, two strong hands grabbed her.

She looked at him then. His black hair was disheveled this way and that, if from nothing else, then the heat of the place, and then she moved down to his eyes, his amazing hazel eyes.

They were like looking into a faraway galaxy.

Just then she moved down to look at his lips as he licked them, and she wanted nothing more then to lean up and kiss his perfect lips.

She started leaning in closer and closer.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He stepped away from the bar with the guys and decided to dance a little. There had been a lot on his mind with the wedding of his ex-girlfriend coming up, and with Ariana becoming a major part of his life, and then there was Kagome.

He thought again about the dancers words, "you need to tell her what is making you act this way, because if it makes InuYasha Takahashi turn away a woman… it is _definitely_ important."

He shook his head. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe there was nothing different about him. Maybe all this – whatever it was… was just in his head.

He turned to sit down a moment as the beat started to fade.

He looked up and was surprised to see Kagome. The way she was dancing made her look sort of like a retarded monkey, but he couldn't help but think about how beautiful she was, and that's when he stopped laughing at her to really think about that.

He just thought that she was beautiful. Not pretty… or cute, which he sometimes thought, but truly, beautiful.

And he had to grin at himself, 'maybe the dancer was right after all.'

He figured that he might as well go dance with her, but he noticed that she was heading towards his direction, so he decided to wait.

He watched as she slowly made her way to his table, and he knew that she had to have seen him, and just when he was about to get up to help her in her chair, she plopped down on him.

He felt awkward for a moment, but then again, it was Kagome, and she was drunk, so he let it slide.

"Well, well, well, look who fell into my lap," he finally replied, knowing that she had no idea that she was sitting on another human being.

She quickly turned around and looked at him wide-eyed, which, contrary to what he was trying to do, made her jerk back and nearly fall on the floor, but he was there, and he caught her and decided to just stand next to her, with the table being the other support.

When he was done positioning her, knowing that she would not fall, he looked down at her.

She was staring at him in such a mysterious way. He did not really know how to call it, but she looked breathtaking. With her lips slightly parted and her cheeks a dusty pink, and then he noticed that she was leaning in to kiss him, but he had to stop her.

He shook her shoulders, "are you alright, Kagome?"

She tightly closed her eyes and gave him a scowl, "you just ruined it," she pouted at him.

"Oh, what did I ruin?" He decided to ask her, but he already knew.

He saw her cheeks turn a slightly darker pink before looking away.

He could only grin.

"You know," Kagome started, "that I so need a boyfriend right now."

His eyes widened, "a boyfriend? Is there anyone in particular… or are you sort of _on the prowl_?" He asked her with a small chuckle.

Kagome lifted her shoulders, "I suppose I am _on the prowl_," she replied in the same type of voice he used, but he couldn't help to see how she turned and looked at him.

He looked at her so intently, and he knew he shouldn't… but he just couldn't help himself.

"Kagome, I –" he started.

"You know," Kagome slurred out. "I have been meaning to tell you something for a while, but I just really haven't felt up to doing it."

She was sort of swaying back and forth now.

InuYasha let out a small laugh, "you really cannot hold any alcohol can you?"

Kagome smiled dumbly up at him, "nope."

"Well, I have something that I was wanting to tell you too," he told her as he tried steadying her.

"Oh, really," she asked him excited, "how cool is it... that we have to tell each other something at the exact same time?"

InuYasha grinned at her and shook his head, "I know. It is so cool."

She sat down on a chair that was nearby, well plopped would be the more proper wording.

Kagome rubbed her head, "I feel like I have such a horrible headache, or is it my stomach?"

InuYasha sat in a chair as close as he could to her. He really didn't want her falling out of it, "it might be a little bit of both."

Kagome shook her head with her eyes still closed, "I think you are right."

"Oh, I think I am going to be sick," Kagome suddenly said as her hand went to her mouth.

InuYasha immediately got up out of the chair and pulled her up softly by her arm, "Well, I think I should take you back to the hotel. You have your key on you? I will hold onto it until we get there to make sure you don't loose it," he told her with a chuckle.

Kagome stuck her tongue out at him, "I might just have to throw up on you," she replied as she handed him the key.

As they began to head towards the door, she turned to him. She looked at him in such an un-Kagome like way, but at the same time, it was a look only she could give him that would make his heart stop the way it was.

"InuYasha, do you want to be Ariana's father?"

He looked deep into her blue orbs, and he saw such sadness there; it was something that he hated seeing, "Of course I want to be her father, Kagome."

Kagome closed her eyes and smiled as a few tears trickled down her face, "Well that's good, because you –"

But she bent down and threw up all over the cement ground in front of them.

InuYasha made sure to keep her hair out of her face until she was done, "are you okay?" He asked once she started getting up.

She coughed a few times but slowly nodded her head, "yeah, I think I just need to go and lay down for a bit."

"Agreed," he told her as he led her out of the club.

Whatever she had to say, she could tell him some other time.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sango turned around to get Kagome after telling Kikyo the plan and was surprised to see the other girl missing. Immediately panic set in. The last thing she needed was for her _very_ drunk friend to go into this packed club right now.

She looked over by the bar, and then on the dance floor.

She looked by the V.I.P section, and then she went back towards the private rooms, but there was no luck, and not to mention that the other woman was _not_ answering her cell phone.

Sango felt like she was about to have a heart attack, but then, she looked over by the tables towards the front of the club, and there she was puking on InuYasha's shoes, and she had to laugh.

Immediately she walked over to them, "InuYasha."

He turned around like a deer caught in headlights, "Sango!"

Kagome looked at her with a huge smile and then went to hug her, "where have you been? I was looking everywhere for you and then oops! I ran into InuYasha. I had no idea they were here," Kagome told him as she winked.

InuYasha just hit his head.

Sango laughed. "It's fine; she told me earlier that you guys were here."

InuYasha laughed, "Oh, she did… did she?"

"Yep," she replied looking at Kagome. "Oh, and she was telling me about her un-dying love for you."

Kagome looked at her like she was crazy, "did I say that?"

Sango started laughing, "If she doesn't understand the seriousness of what I just said, she definitely needs to get out of here!"

InuYasha grinned, "That's for sure. Oh," he replied as he dug into his pockets, "she handed me her room key earlier. I was going to take her, but since you're here…" and then he lost his voice.

"Yeah, I was going to take her to the hotel in the first place. Wouldn't want you taking advantage of her," Sango replied as she winked.

But InuYasha was too lost in what she had said before.

'She has un-dying love for me?'

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A/N: aw, I can see the light lol. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It is shaping into the culminating moment we have all been waiting for. :)

REVIEWS:

RiceBallMaker94 : I know what you mean. I like Koga with Kikyo and then InuYasha with Kagome as well, but we know that life is not perfect, however perfect it may seem on the outside. Kikyo and InuYasha just have unresolved issues, but we will see here in a few chapters how they cope with it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Grumpy DelSan13 : As for feelings InuYasha has for Kagome, I hope this added some padding as to whether they are there or not. In the next few chapters, it will definitely become apparent on where I am taking this story. As for Kikyo, in my mind she is trying to make sure that marrying Koga is the right move for her, and of course, she still thinks about InuYasha. She has not seen him for five years, so she wants to make sure she is doing the right thing for herself. She still feels this slight pull to InuYasha, but I just think it's missing the past, since she believes that Koga is her feature. I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

Princess Inume : I hope he gets over Kikyo as well, but the world may never know ;) lol. I kid! The answers you seek are just within the next few chapters. Hang in there!

Kokoronagomu : Haha. I think denial captures his feelings so well! To him, Kagome is not a woman he is usually attracted to, but by being forced to hang out with her... he sees the beauty in her that he would have just overlooked... not to say that she is not attractive, but a girl that wears glasses and does not dress in sleazy clothes is not his normal woman ;)

Yes, they are all human in this story. I don't know if you read Savwah Fehrr, which I started five years ago, but in that one I made them demon, hanyou, and the like. In One Question, InuYasha and Sesshoumaru have dark brown hair. They just look like normal Japanese people. Short hair.  
I am glad to know that you still read fanfiction. I bet it is a chore trying to get time. Believe me I understand completely. Oh, and thank you for your reviews on Love Handouts. I did change some wording and such in that story, but I mostly kept it the same. I just wanted to post it on this site. I hope all is well with you. Thank you for the review, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

FairyRains : Hot and Heavy! "Operation: Tell InuYasha he's a father" LOL. When he finally finds out it is going to be flashback, since there are some situational context that I feel would be better expressed in a flash back instead of "I am telling you you are the dad and here is why," kind of thing. Option 1 sounds great in my mind. I am trying to get you all to see how Kagme is when she is drunk, so that part of the story makes sense. As for Kikyo, I would not peg her as being forgiving. I will give you some foreshadowing... just because things look like they are going to be great in this story, and it looks like it is coming to a close... it is not. DONT be fooled. But I do appreciate you thinking out loud. It keeps me on track to make sure I try and make everything flow. Hope you liked this chapter, and keep telling me what you are thinking :)

Anime Lady PIMP : Haha. My husband saw your review, and he was like what is your story about LOL. I was like it's not what you think it is! .

g0ld3n : Aw, well your review made my day again lol. Thank you! I know what you mean about originality. This story, in my mind, was way different before I started writing it, and then it just came together. I actually dreamed this story up, but before I started writing it... it was the normal Kikyo and Kagome are arch enemies. Kikyou tricks Kagome, and she sleeps with InuYasha blah blah... but somehow.. it came to this, and I am so happy that it turned out the way it did. I do think it is mostly because I am an adult. I don't think like a teenager, so having a story like that would just be outside my element. You write what you know after all ;) Thank you again, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.


	18. Good Enough

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 17 – Good Enough

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"You know Sango," Kagome started once they got to the hotel, "you and Miroku should totally make out!"

Sango looked at her with the biggest blush on her cheeks as the other woman tried to cover up her giggle with her hand.

Sango shook her head and let out a deep breath, "Kagome, you don't _ever_ need to drink this much again."

Kagome put her arm around her, "you are probably right, but for some reason… whenever there is a club and InuYasha… I end up like this."

Sango lifted her eyebrow, "you go out with InuYasha a lot?"

Kagome lifted her shoulders, "Well, yea."

They passed the front desk, "do you have your key on you Kagome?" Sango asked her, making sure she had it while they were still in the lobby, instead of going all the way to her room and then finding that she didn't have it.

Kagome dug into her pockets, "here it is," she replied as she handed it to Sango. "What is it with you and InuYasha thinking that I can't keep up with my keys?"

Sango laughed at her, "Well, if you watched yourself walk right now… you would want your key too."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at her.

"Okay, you are in room 305," she replied as she looked at the envelope her room key was held in.

Kagome held up a hand, "wow… for some reason I was thinking it was 342, but the envelope knows!" She told her as she lifted her hand in the air and made a more prominent march towards the elevators.

Sango put a hand over her face as she laughed at her.

They made their way inside, "Kagome, do you mind me asking a serious question?"

Kagome looked at her with a smile, "is it… how do I confess my love to Miroku?"

Sango felt a blush blaze her cheeks, "that is not the question."

"Oh," Kagome replied as she looked at the numbers lighting up, "so what is it?"

Sango looked at her feet a moment, "do you _like _InuYasha?"

Kagome looked at the other girl, and now, it was her turn to blush, "I, uh," she began as she scratched her head, "you promise you wont say anything?"

Sango looked at the other woman as she gave her that look that all girls know deep down. That pleading look a woman gets when she wants to tell… but she is afraid.

"I promise," she told her with a smile.

Kagome took a deep breath, "yeah, I like him… a lot, actually."

"Why don't you tell him?"

Kagome looked at the other girl a moment, before looking back at the numbers knowing that the door was about to open, "I am just afraid."

The elevator dinged open, "afraid of what?"

"I have no idea where to begin," Kagome replied, "Oh, crap, the floor is still moving!"

Sango laughed at her, "here," she replied as she helped her friend get out of the elevator and head toward her room.

"Kagome, if you want my advice, telling him will always be better then not saying anything at all," Sango started as they finally reached her room.

"You don't want to look back on it, and regret never saying anything, believe me," she replied as the light flashed on the door, and she opened it.

Sango turned on the lights, "where is all of your stuff?"

Kagome looked around the room, "you know… I really have no idea."

Sango laughed at her; "Well, I guess we can look in the morning. You need help getting in bed?"

Kagome took in a deep breath as she fell face first into the mattress, "sure," she replied smiling.

"You don't need to use the bathroom… do you?"

Kagome lifted her head a bit, "that might be a good idea."

Sango smiled, "yea… you want to wash up too?" She asked as she helped her off the bed.

"I don't know if I want to do all of that," she whined.

"Okay, we will only do it if you feel up to it."

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"But… I haven't told anyone," Kagome replied as the steam from the shower began to steam up the mirror.

Sango was speechless.

"But Kikyo…"

"She knows," Kagome replied.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"How do… I mean… he won't be mad… will he?"

"Honestly, I am not sure. He is so hot and cold sometimes," Sango told her as she looked at her hands.

Kagome looked at her and smiled, "I am glad we had this talk."

Sango smiled sadly at her, "me too."

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InuYasha looked at his phone.

3:05 a.m.

His eyes widened; he knew that they had to leave if they wanted to get up for the final meeting tomorrow.

He felt like he was about to pass out; being up since seven the previous morning, he knew it was time to head out.

"Hey, Sesshomaru," InuYasha called as he saw his brother. "Do you know where Koga and Miroku went?"

The other man, who looked _very_ bored, pointed towards the dancers.

InuYasha just rolled his eyes. "Figures," he grumbled as he headed towards them.

"Well, my lovely ladies, how would you like to come with me tonight?" Miroku asked the two girls.

They giggled in response.

"I will take that as a yes," he smiled perverted.

InuYasha smacked him in the head.

"Owe, hey!" Miroku replied as he looked at the other man.

"We are out of here, and if you don't want Sango to see you like this… I would get up – fast!"

Miroku's eyes widened, "Excuse me ladies, but it appears I will not be able to accompany you tonight."

"Oh, we were really looking forward to it, Miroku," one of the women replied.

Miroku looked at InuYasha with pleading eyes.

InuYasha waved him off, "it is your funeral."

Miroku let out a big huff of air. "I know. I was too. Maybe some other time," he replied as he followed InuYasha.

"Let's go get Koga," Miroku sighed sadly.

InuYasha let out a large breath knowing that he would have to go through the same routine with the next man.

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"Alright, see you tomorrow Sango," Kagome told the woman as she closed the door to her hotel room.

She plopped on the bed, trying to figure out how to go to sleep. She felt so hot.

She laid there a moment before she started taking off her clothes, leaving only her bra and underwear on, since she couldn't find any of her other clothes at the moment.

"Ah," she replied as she made herself comfortable, "now, some much needed sleep."

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Finally, after about thirty more minutes, all the guys were able to leave the club and head towards the hotel.

InuYasha was just glad he was finally out of there.

He looked at his phone and held the screen on Kagome's name.

"What's up?" Miroku asked him.

InuYasha looked at him, "nothing. Why?"

Miroku laughed; "You were concentrating all hard that I thought something was wrong. Why don't you just call her?"

"Keh," InuYasha replied as he looked at the window, "what makes you think that I am always thinking about Kagome," and then his eyes widened.

"Man, you are so busted. I never said anything about Kagome," Miroku replied laughing.

"Whatever," InuYasha grumbled, "just drive."

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InuYasha let out a large breath as he made his way to his room, glad that, at least for now, he could get a good night sleep.

He slid the key that was in his pocket through the card reader.

The door blinked red.

Confused, InuYasha tried again.

Red.

He huffed as he made his way back to the lobby, "Yeah, for some reason my card isn't working," he told the man that was working behind the counter.

"Room number," the manager asked.

"305."

The manager took his key, slid it through the card slot on the side of the computer, and then handed it back to him, "Here is your key, and sorry again for the inconvenience sir."

"No problem," InuYasha grumbled, albeit as pleasant as he could.

He finally made it to his room again, and this time, he was pleased to see the light flash green. With his overnight bag in hand, he made his way into the hotel room.

He put his bag down and turned on the lights, and then stopped dead in his tracks.

There, on his bed, wearing only lingerie was Kagome.

He felt his face heat up.

"How on earth did this happen?"

He thought as he immediately went into the bathroom, and then it dawned on him.

Images of her handing him the key, and then him handing the enveloped key to Sango flashed into his head.

He smacked his head with his hand. He knew he should have checked the key out more thoroughly.

He took a deep breath as he made his way inside the main part of the room once more… this time, with a determination to _actually_ talk to Kagome, so that he could _potentially_ take her back to her room, as long as she didn't act like a drunken crazy person.

He took a deep breath, and just when he was about to tap her, she rolled over.

InuYasha felt like his eyes were going to pop out of his head.

She looked amazing – breathtaking, as if he wasn't using that word enough to describe her in his mind.

The covers were slightly covering her, but he could still _clearly_ make out the black lace bra and panty set.

And at that precise moment, he knew.

He decided that he would throw on some shorts that he brought, and then slowly, pick up a pillow and a blanket and lay on the floor. Unfortunately, the pillows were all around Kagome, so he had to _literally_ get on the bed so that he could retrieve one of them.

He almost removed the pillow from its spot completely, until –

"I was just dreaming about you," Kagome told him as she opened her eyes.

InuYasha stared at her dumbly. One of his hands sprawled on the bed while the other was somewhat resembling a claw to pick up the pillow.

He sat in that position a moment, completely _unable_ to do anything.

"You know," Kagome began, not noticing InuYasha being stark still, "Sango and I had this talk tonight, and she told me that I should just be honest about things, and so," she halted a moment as she turned towards him, making him fall on his side.

He suddenly felt so nervous, so outside of himself.

"I wanted to tell you that… I like you." She finished as she closed her eyes tightly.

InuYasha felt his heart pounding in his chest.

She opened them, "I like you, InuYasha."

It felt like such a fifth grade thing to say, but he took it so well in her dream, and with the talk that Sango gave her that she knew that she just had to tell him.

InuYasha shook his head and paused a moment, "you can't say that to me."

Kagome looked at him then, so hurt – so vulnerable, that she wished she could take it back.

"Why?"

He looked at her intently, his heart racing in his chest, "because you are _more_ then half naked… and I …_really_ like you too."

Kagome felt her cheeks heat up, but the one urge that guided her – the one push that kept her going was –

And then she leaned over him and kissed him.

Kissed him with such intensity – with such a ferocity that she felt like she didn't want or need air to breath, but just being near him, that was enough to sustain her.

He kissed her back, as if this was the one thing that his life needed – the one thing that would make everything fall into place, and he relished in it.

He knew that she was drunk, but he also knew that Kagome was the type of person, no matter how drunk, told the truth, and when he heard those words come out of her mouth, he felt like he had just won the best prize her heart could offer.

It wasn't love.

But for now, this was good enough.

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A/N: Aw! I really liked this chapter. Well, it is the long awaited moment for our two main characters. I hope you all liked how it turned out :)  
Some other notes: tomorrow is my birthday! Yay! LOL  
Also, I start school on Thursday, so more then likely the amount of posts made will decrease :( College. Gotta love it, huh?

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Let me know!

REVIEWS:

Princess Inume: While she didn't reveal the main secret, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. Oh, and don't worry the truth will all come out eventually :)

RiceBallMaker94: Haha. I hope you liked this chapter :)

Anime Lady PIMP: LOL. I hope you were not disappointed in this one (wink-wink)

Fairy Rains: Oh gosh! I really hope Kagome doesn't throw up on him. Poor guy. LOL. As for thought provoking, after this chapter I think InuYasha is just going to be in la-la land, but I promise the time is coming. More like he is going to get hit by a lightning bolt of memories type situation. (oh gosh... gave it away haha. I kid! ) Since you live on the same brainwaves as me... I think you might be able to deduce my plan of action ;) Thanks for the review!

Grumpy DelSan13: LOL. Your first sentence really made my day. I love that you got that reaction, but since you wanted them to kiss you got your wish :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for the review!

Fanficnewbiee: your welcome! I hope you liked this update :)


	19. Hickey

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

One Question

Chapter 18 – Hickey

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Kagome woke up the next morning with the worst headache of her life.

"Oh my gosh, what did I drink?"

A warm arm moved over her uncovered abdomen, and a fresh blush crossed her face.

She didn't have to look around the room to see the scattered clothes to remember what went on last night.

She smiled to herself, knowing that they had just taken a _huge_ step in their relationship, but she knew that it was worth it.

"That was amazing," InuYasha grumbled into the pillow.

Kagome felt the blush increase on her face.

Just then he looked up at her and smiled, "are you going to blush like that all the time?"

Her eyes widened as she turned the other way.

He kissed her cheek, "I think it's cute. Don't change it," he told her as he got up out of the bed.

When he walked away, Kagome just smiled to herself, glad that for once, things had worked out the way she wanted.

"You want to grab lunch before this dumb meeting?" InuYasha asked as he stepped out of the bathroom brushing his teeth. His smile told her just how happy he was.

"That sounds like a plan," Kagome told him as she got up out of the bed, but when she looked down, she immediately felt awkward, "but before we do anything…" she began as a blush painted its way across her cheeks, "I need to get some clothes."

All that could be heard was his chuckles making its way from the bathroom.

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"Last night was amazing," Rin told her as soon as she arrived.

Kagome smiled at her. She remembered the huge bag of _goodies_ Rin purchased at the party, "I bet last night was."

She and InuYasha decided to arrive separately. She thought that if they arrived together that people might suspect something, and he argued with her that no one would suspect anything unless they started acting weird.

Kagome smiled to herself as she entered the room where their last meeting was to be held, 'our first argument,' she paused, 'well, our first… relationship argument – If that was the word for this.'

She knew that the next time she was alone with InuYasha, they needed to actually define what it is that they were.

"Hey," Kikyo said as she entered the room.

Kagome smiled at her sister, "hey, you excited?" She asked her as she thought about the wedding.

Kikyo let out a deep breath, "I am excited to get this over with," she told her honestly, and Kagome knew exactly what she meant.

"So," Kagome began, but wondered off when she saw how big Kikyo's eyes were. "Kikyo, what's wrong?"

"You have the biggest hickey on the side of your neck," Kikyo replied as she looked at her sister.

Kagome's eyes widened as her hand immediately went to cover it. "I wonder how that happened," she replied as she gave off an awkward chuckle.

"What are the Higurashi sisters talking about?" Koga asked as he came over to them.

"Kagome has a huge hickey on the side of her neck," Rin stated as she stood next to them.

Kagome looked over at Rin, pleading with her to keep it quiet.

"How did this happen?" Koga asked, assuming the protective brotherly role he was about to come upon.

"How did what happen?" Miroku asked as he came over.

Kagome's face turned a bright red.

"Kagome has a huge hickey on the side of her neck," Koga told the man.

"Kagome has a hickey?" Sango asked as she tried looking at the woman's neck.

"Well, at least someone got some action last night," Miroku grumbled.

Sango hit him over the head, "pervert!"

Kagome looked at her pleadingly.

InuYasha came in whistling.

"Hey, Kagome has a huge hickey on her neck," Miroku told him as he got closer.

InuYasha smiled smugly, "well, someone got lucky last night."

Kagome felt like her face was on fire.

Sango looked at InuYasha and then at Kagome, and dawning came upon her, "you two didn't!" she shouted.

All eyes turned to her.

Sango's face began to flush as she scratched the back of her head, "sorry… I was just looking at this soap opera that I keep up with," she replied.

Everyone nodded their head feeling like that was a valid reply.

"So who is the lucky guy?" Rin asked as she turned her attention to Kagome.

"Yeah, Kagome, care to share?" InuYasha egged it on.

"Kagome, I need you to look over something with me," Sango replied as she dragged the woman quickly out of the room and into InuYasha's office, knowing that no one would look for them in there.

"Care to share?" Sango asked in the same voice that InuYasha just used.

Kagome hid her face in her hand, "I can't believe _that_ just happened."

Sango smiled, "well that's what happens when you show up with a huge hickey on the side of your neck, and how did this happen? If I can recall… I did leave you in _your_ room."

Kagome shook her head, "I was in InuYasha's room… the _entire _time."

"Oh, so that's why you thought you had a different room, because you _did_ have another room," and then her demeanor changed, "wait, did he take advantage of you, because if he did… I swear!"

Kagome shook her head, "no, he was actually being a gentleman… I, uh, started it," she told her with a blush.

Sango looked at her with wide-eyes, "you started it?" She laughed; "now that is hard to believe."

Kagome took a deep breath, "It's just… we had that talk… and I really wanted to tell him how I felt… and," she smiled then, a big goofy smile, "and he likes me too."

Sango smiled, "Oh my gosh!"

Both women jumped up and down.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Kagome and Sango turned to see InuYasha standing at the door.

Kagome turned away with a blush aligning her cheeks.

"So, you two going to start dating?" Sango asked.

Now, it was InuYasha's turn to blush and look the other way.

Sango just smiled, "well, I will keep the secret, but we need to get this bad boy covered," she replied as she took out some makeup.

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"Okay, in two days, we are going to have this wedding," Kikyo told them again.

"And we need to make sure that everything is perfect," the rest of the room grumbled together.

Kikyo blushed, "yes."

InuYasha smiled as he grabbed Kagome's hand from under the table.

Kagome looked at him wide-eyed before smiling.

"And Kagome," Kikyo interrupted making Kagome immediately let go of InuYasha's hand and place it on the table.

"Yes," she answered a bit nervous.

"Remember that you are responsible for the kids."

Kagome's eyes widened, "oh, of, of course," she stuttered slightly.

"All right, that wraps this last meeting up," Kikyo said as she clapped her hands, "see everyone in two days."

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Kagome paced back and forth in the bathroom as she bit her finger nails.

As soon as the meeting was over she launched out of the room and headed towards the nearest place where she could be alone and that just happened to be the bathroom.

"What am I going to do? What am I going to do?" She asked herself over and over again.

She heard a knock at the door, "Kagome, are you in there?" She heard Sango ask.

Kagome looked quickly at the door and then went to unlock it.

Sango looked relieved, "we were sort of worried. I swear InuYasha is acting like he was about to have a heart attack, no matter how much he was trying to deny it."

Kagome nodded her head, "Yea, but we have a more serious matter on our hands," Kagome looked at her worried.

Sango looked at her as dawning crossed her face, "please tell me that you told him."

Kagome shook her head. She felt the seriousness of the situation fall on her shoulders. 'What have I done?'

Sango let out a deep breath. "It's okay; you can still tell him," she said supportive.

Kagome shook her head, "but how and where?"

Sango put her hand on the girls' shoulders, "it will be okay, just breath," she told her to try and get her to relax.

"Breath," she said again.

Kagome took in a couple of deep breaths. "Okay, that helped, but… how?"

Sango took a couple of deep breaths of her own, "okay, here is what I think you should do."

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A/N: Okay, sorry that it has been a few days. I have really been thinking about this chapter. Lots of thoughts actually. I didn't know if them having sex was appropriate, and if they did... how would their reactions be and so on, but I do think the way the chapter is set up is nice. It shows what it needs to. Some of you might have been hoping for some more action, but I don't think the story is ready for that. I think them having sex is a natural progression in an adult relationship.. especially when both of them have feelings for each other, so having said that... please do not be upset if you wanted more action that I did not give you :( For this chapter I wanted to focus mostly on what it did. I found it humorous and completely awkward for Kagome, but what kind of chapter would it be if Kagome wasn't awkward in this story? lol

REVIEWS:

Princess Inume: Kagome told Sango the truth about_ everything_. Thank you for the review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter ;)

Anime Lady PIMP: thank you! I am glad you liked it :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

fanficnewbiee: thank you for the birthday wishes and the luck for classes :) Did you find any new information if you got to read it all again? I did put some clues in there... so maybe you did ;) Thanks for the review!

Grumpy DelSan13: I am glad you liked it :D

FairyRains: Thanks! Chemistry Exploding: nice! haha. You are going down the right path of thinking (like always - insert smile face), and I am there with you. I love background music. It conveys so much more feeling into the story, but not every story would go well with this song for this chapter and so on... it is better sometimes to let your imagination guide you :) Thanks for the review.

RiceBallMaker94: thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well :)

Peace: thank you! I am glad to hear that you like it :) And I will update as much as I can.


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